Nicotine chemical compound
Nicotine chemical compound
Nicotine, an organic compound that is the principal alkaloid of tobacco. (An alkaloid is one of a group of nitrogenous organic compounds that have marked physiological effects on humans.) Nicotine occurs throughout the tobacco plant and especially in the leaves. The compound constitutes about 5 percent of the plant by weight. Both the tobacco plant (Nicotiana tabacum) and the compound are named for Jean Nicot, a French ambassador to Portugal, who sent tobacco seeds to Paris in 1550.
Crude nicotine was known by 1571, and the compound was obtained in purified form in 1828; the correct molecular formula was established in 1843, and the first laboratory synthesis was reported in 1904. Nicotine is one of the few liquid alkaloids. In its pure state it is a colourless, odourless liquid with an oily consistency, but when exposed to light or air, it acquires a brown colour and gives off a strong odour of tobacco. Nicotine’s chemical formula is C10H14N2.
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