JP2008125498A - Method for producing tobacco leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for reducing the content of harmful substances and carcinogenic substances in a tobacco leaf. <P>SOLUTION: Harmful substances and carcinogenic substances can be removed by washing a chopped tobacco leaf with a solvent to obtain a tobacco leaf having low contents of harmful substances and carcinogenic substances. A tobacco produced from the treated tobacco leaf generates reduced amounts of harmful substances and carcinogenic substances in the mainstream smoke and the sidestream smoke in smoking to reduce the amounts of the harmful substances and carcinogenic substances taken into the body. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for producing cigarettes with a small amount of harmful substances and carcinogens contained in smoke generated from tobacco leaves during smoking.

  Tobacco has been spread all over the world since it was brought to the West at the end of the 15th century, and it has been used habitually as a persistent luxury item despite its health problems in recent years. In general, tobacco is blended with a plurality of ripened tobacco leaves, chopped, and then added with fragrance and moisture. Cigarettes that have been chopped are favored using cigarettes wrapped with the same leaf or pipes and smoke tubes, but cigarettes with tobacco leaves that are chopped on paper are the most common. It is.

  However, it has been clarified that such mainstream smoke of tobacco contains carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, harmful substances such as nicotine and tar, and carcinogens such as benzopyrene and nitrosamine. Epidemiological studies have revealed that these harmful substances and carcinogens cause carcinogenesis as well as respiratory and circulatory diseases. Such harmful substances and carcinogens are also included in sidestream smoke and are known to be detrimental to the health of those around smokers who breathe smoke.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, a cigarette using a processed product of coconut shell has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This is the expectation that activated carbon is produced by carbonizing the processed coconut shell by smoking, and this activated carbon adsorbs harmful substances and carcinogens contained in smoke, which may harm health. The purpose is to mitigate.
JP 2001-252063 A

  However, although a method for suppressing the intake of harmful substances and carcinogens including Patent Document 1 has been proposed, it does not directly remove the harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the tobacco leaf itself. The problem of harmful substances and carcinogens in smoke is not fundamentally solved.

  In view of the above, the present invention aims to provide a method for reducing harmful substances and carcinogens contained in tobacco leaves themselves.

  The method for producing tobacco leaves of the present invention is characterized in that the tobacco leaves that have been cut are washed with a solvent.

  According to the method for producing tobacco leaves of the present invention, toxic substances and carcinogens can be dissolved and removed to a considerable extent in the solvent by putting the chopped leaves into a solvent and washing the leaves. That is, tobacco leaves with less harmful substances and carcinogens can be produced. Tobacco made from this manufactured tobacco leaf has less harmful and carcinogenic substances in mainstream and sidestream smoke during smoking, and the amount of harmful and carcinogenic substances ingested is lower than before. Less.

  An ethanol solution can be used as the solvent in the method for producing tobacco leaves of the present invention. The harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the leaves include fat-soluble substances and water-soluble substances. By using an ethanol solution, fat-soluble or water-soluble harmful substances and carcinogens can be eluted and removed in the ethanol solution.

  In the present invention, toxic substances and carcinogens can be removed in advance by washing the cut tobacco leaves with a solvent, and tobacco leaves with less harmful substances and carcinogens can be produced. Tobacco made from the manufactured tobacco leaves has a reduced amount of harmful substances and carcinogens contained in mainstream smoke during smoking, and the amount of harmful substances and carcinogens ingested is smaller than before.

  FIG. 1 is a process diagram of a method for producing tobacco leaves according to the present invention. In the present invention, a leaf refers to a tobacco leaf, which is in a state of being cut after being dried and aged. In the present invention, the tobacco leaf refers to a leaf after treatment in each step described below. Usually, a cigarette is obtained by wrapping this tobacco leaf with paper. The present invention relates to a method for producing tobacco leaves in which harmful substances and carcinogens are eluted and removed from the leaves themselves by washing the cut leaves with a solvent.

  Smoking smoke includes tar, nicotine, aldehydes, acetone, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, phenols and other harmful substances, benzopyrene, nitrosamines, quinolines, hydrazine , 2-naphthylamine, 4-aminobiphenyl, o-toluidine and other carcinogens. Many of these harmful substances and carcinogens are originally contained in the leaves.

  In the method for producing tobacco leaves of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the chopped leaves are immersed in a solvent, and the leaves are washed with the solvent. By this washing, harmful substances and carcinogens can be removed from the chopped leaves. The solvent used in this step may be any solvent as long as it has an affinity for harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the leaves and can extract them, but is preferably non-toxic.

  The concentration of ethanol in which the leaves are immersed can be appropriately changed in consideration of drying of tobacco leaves to be produced, retention of taste components, etc., but those having a concentration of 50% or more are preferable. If the ethanol concentration is 50% or more, a considerable amount of harmful substances and carcinogens can be eluted and removed from the leaves. Moreover, the original flavor of tobacco is not lost, and the drying treatment after the treatment can be facilitated.

  The chopped leaves are immersed in a solvent for a predetermined time, for example, for 40 hours, and then the leaves are pulled up to remove the attached solvent. In this solvent removal step, a centrifugal filter can be used. By using this centrifugal filter, the solvent can be quickly removed from the leaves after immersion. And after performing a solvent removal, it is made to dry.

  After drying, a fragrance can be added. When adding a fragrance | flavor, a fragrance | flavor can be added by immersing the leaf after drying for a predetermined time in the fragrance | flavor liquid which dissolved the fragrance | flavor in 90% or more of ethanol. Since the harmful substances and carcinogens are removed from the leaves by washing with a solvent, the fragrance added here can emphasize the scent more. At this time, moisture can be added to adjust the moisture.

  The tobacco leaf of the present invention can be produced as described above. In this production process, the leaves are washed with a solvent, whereby harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the leaves can be removed from the tobacco leaves. Thereby, the quantity of the harmful | toxic substance and carcinogen contained in the tobacco leaf manufactured is reduced. Therefore, the tobacco manufactured using this tobacco leaf has a reduced amount of harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the smoke generated by smoking compared to conventional tobacco. Also consume less. In addition, the combined use of a charcoal filter capable of adsorbing smoke can further reduce the intake of harmful substances and carcinogens.

  Decreasing the intake of these harmful substances and carcinogens can be expected to reduce the incidence of respiratory diseases and other cancers. In addition, smoking this cigarette alleviates the discomfort caused by the smoke that the smoker had previously felt in the mouth, nose and throat, and can taste the original flavor of cigarettes compared to conventional cigarettes. Liberation is also expected.

  In the method for producing tobacco leaves of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the chopped leaves may be washed with water before the chopped leaves are washed with a solvent. The leaves cut into water with relatively few impurities are immersed for a predetermined time. This makes it possible to elute and remove water-soluble harmful substances and carcinogens contained in the leaves.

  After soaking for a predetermined time, the leaves are pulled up to remove the attached water. In this dehydration step, a centrifugal filter can be used. By using this centrifugal filter, water can be quickly removed from the leaves after immersion. Then, after dehydration, the substrate is immersed in a solvent and washed with the solvent. Thus, by washing the leaves cut before washing with the solvent with water, more harmful substances and carcinogens can be removed.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[Example 1] Tobacco from tobacco leaves washed with 90% aqueous ethanol solution 50.1 g of leaves taken from commercially available tobacco (Mild Seven (registered trademark) Extralite) was added to 500 ml of 90% aqueous ethanol solution at room temperature. Soaked for days. Thereafter, ethanol was separated from the leaves by a centrifugal filter (manufactured by Kokusan Co., Ltd.). The deethanolized leaves were left at room temperature for 3 days or more and dried. After drying, the tobacco leaf weighed 38.3 g (about 76%). The dried tobacco leaf was wound up by a hand winder so that the tobacco leaf would be 0.55 g, and tobacco of Example 1 was obtained using a filter having no adsorption capacity.

[Example 2] Tobacco with tobacco leaves washed with 99.5% aqueous ethanol solution The same leaves as in Example 1 were used, and 99.5% ethanol was used as a solvent instead of the 90% aqueous ethanol solution. Tobacco was produced in the same manner as in Example 1, and the tobacco of Example 2 was obtained using a filter having no adsorptive capacity.

[Example 3] Tobacco with tobacco leaves washed with 50% ethanol aqueous solution The same leaves as in Example 1 were used, and 50% ethanol was used as a solvent instead of 90% ethanol aqueous solution. After washing and drying treatment, the moisture was adjusted to the same weight as the leaves before washing, and the charcoal filter having adsorption ability was used to obtain the tobacco of Example 3.

[Example 4] Tobacco with tobacco leaves washed with 90% aqueous ethanol Tobacco leaves were produced in the same manner as in Example 1 and used as an tobacco of Example 5 using an adsorbent charcoal filter.

[Comparative Example] Non-washed tobacco For comparison, leaves taken from commercially available tobacco (Mild Seven (registered trademark) Extralite) were used. The leaf was rolled up by a hand winder so that the leaf was 0.6 g per one piece, and a charcoal filter having an adsorbing ability was used to obtain a comparative tobacco.

  A method for measuring the weight of nicotine, tar, N-nitrosodimethylamine, and benzo (a) pyrene contained in the tobacco smoke of Examples 1 to 3 will be described below.

  For smoke absorption, a pre-weighed glass fiber filter paper (ADVANTEV, GB-100R, 47 mm) was attached to a metal holder, and a predetermined number of tobacco smoke was adsorbed and collected. And the glass fiber filter paper after collection was weighed, and the difference in the weight of the glass fiber filter paper before and after the collection was taken as the weight of the total particulate matter. Then, the glass fiber filter paper was subjected to ultrasonic extraction with dichloromethane (Kanto Chemical), and the extract was concentrated to obtain an extract having a total volume of 10 ml.

For the measurement of nicotine, two cigarettes were sucked and the extract collected by adsorption was used. As an internal standard substance, 50 ng of biphenyl-d ₁₀ (for Kanto Chemical Environmental Analysis) was added to 0.1 ml of the extract to prepare a sample solution for measuring nicotine concentration. The nicotine concentration was measured by measuring the weight of nicotine per cigarette using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (Trace2000 Ultra manufactured by Thermo Electron Co., Ltd.).

  The amount of tar was calculated by subtracting the weight of nicotine from the weight of all particulate matter adhering to the glass fiber filter paper to calculate the amount of tar for one cigarette.

For the measurement of N-nitrosodimethylamine, 10 cigarettes were smoked and the extract collected by adsorption was used. As an internal standard substance, 50 ng of naphthalene-d ₈ (for Kanto Chemical Environmental Analysis) was added to 0.1 ml of the extract to prepare a sample solution for N-nitrosodimethylamine concentration measurement. For measuring the N-nitrosodimethylamine concentration, the weight of N-nitrosodimethylamine per cigarette was measured using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (Trace2000 Ultra manufactured by Thermo Electron Co., Ltd.).

For measurement of benzo (a) pyrene, 10 cigarettes were smoked, and the extract collected by adsorption was used. After adding 50 ng of benzo (a) pyrene-d ₁₂ (CIL (Cambridge Island Laboratories)) as an internal standard substance to 5 ml of the extract, the mixture was concentrated and hexane transferred. This hexane solution was poured into a silica gel column. After washing with 15 ml of hexane, elution was performed with 100 ml of hexane containing 5% acetone. The elution solution was concentrated to obtain a sample solution for measuring benzo (a) pyrene. For the measurement of the benzo (a) pyrene concentration, the weight of benzo (a) pyrene per cigarette was measured using a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (Trace2000 Ultra manufactured by Thermo Electron Co., Ltd.).

  The tobacco of Example 1, Example 2 and Comparative Example was measured for nicotine, tar, N-nitrosodimethylamine and benzo (a) pyrene, and the tobacco of Example 3 was measured for N-nitrosodimethylamine. . The results are shown in Table 1.

  As shown in Table 1, the tobaccos of Example 1 and Example 2 had nicotine decreased by 64% to 70%, tar by 19% to 28%, and benzopyrene by 22% to 27% as compared with the tobacco of the comparative example. . Moreover, although N-nitrosamine of the tobacco of Example 1 and Example 2 is a numerical value higher than a comparative example, it is thought that this is because the charcoal filter is not used. In the tobacco of Example 3 using an aqueous ethanol solution having a concentration of 50% and a charcoal filter, N-nitrosodimethylamine was 3.0 ng or less, which is the detection limit.

  Furthermore, the measurement results of the amounts of tar and nicotine contained in the mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke of Example 4 are shown below.

  The cigarette smoke of Example 4 was divided into a sidestream smoke rising from the ignition part and a mainstream smoke sucked through a charcoal filter, and collected by a vacuum trap using methanol as a trap liquid. And the amount of nicotine and tar contained in the collected mainstream smoke and sidestream smoke was measured by GC-MS. As a comparison, the same measurement was performed using the tobacco of the comparative example. The results are shown in Table 2.

  The amount of nicotine was calculated from the peak area ratio of GC-MS by preparing a 10 mg / L nicotine solution and using this nicotine solution as a standard. The amount of tar was calculated by GC-MS peak area ratio using coal tar (reagent grade) to prepare a 50 mg / L tar solution and using this tar solution as a standard. The results are shown in Table 2.

  As shown in Table 2, by using a charcoal filter together, the tobacco of Example 4 has 69% nicotine in mainstream smoke, 74% in sidestream smoke and mainstream smoke in comparison with the comparative example. 39%, side smoke decreased by 13%

  From the above results, it was found that the amount of harmful substances and carcinogens in the leaves themselves was reduced by the solvent, and the harmful substances and carcinogens in tobacco smoke produced by rolling up tobacco leaves were reduced.

It is a figure which shows an example of the manufacturing method of the tobacco leaf of this invention. It is process drawing which shows another example of the manufacturing method of the tobacco leaf of this invention.

Claims (5)

  A method for producing tobacco leaves, comprising washing the tobacco leaves that have been cut with a solvent.   The method for producing tobacco leaves according to claim 1, wherein the solvent is an ethanol solution.   The method for producing tobacco leaves according to claim 1, wherein the solvent is an aqueous ethanol solution having a concentration of 50% or more.   The method for producing tobacco leaves according to claim 1, wherein the chopped leaves are washed with water before washing with the solvent.   The method for producing tobacco leaves according to claim 1, wherein a flavor is added to the leaves washed with the solvent.