US3358694A - Method of reducing irritants in tobacco by gamma irradiation - Google Patents
Method of reducing irritants in tobacco by gamma irradiation Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US3358694A US3358694A US455019A US45501965A US3358694A US 3358694 A US3358694 A US 3358694A US 455019 A US455019 A US 455019A US 45501965 A US45501965 A US 45501965A US 3358694 A US3358694 A US 3358694A
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- tobacco
- smoke
- irradiated
- irritants
- reducing
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- Expired - Lifetime
Links
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims description 13
- 241000208125 Nicotiana Species 0.000 title description 35
- 235000002637 Nicotiana tabacum Nutrition 0.000 title description 35
- 239000002085 irritant Substances 0.000 title description 7
- 231100000021 irritant Toxicity 0.000 title description 7
- 230000005855 radiation Effects 0.000 claims description 7
- 239000000779 smoke Substances 0.000 description 27
- 235000019504 cigarettes Nutrition 0.000 description 10
- YXFVVABEGXRONW-UHFFFAOYSA-N Toluene Chemical compound CC1=CC=CC=C1 YXFVVABEGXRONW-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 6
- 239000011269 tar Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000000126 substance Substances 0.000 description 4
- UHOVQNZJYSORNB-UHFFFAOYSA-N Benzene Chemical compound C1=CC=CC=C1 UHOVQNZJYSORNB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- YMWUJEATGCHHMB-UHFFFAOYSA-N Dichloromethane Chemical compound ClCCl YMWUJEATGCHHMB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- DNIAPMSPPWPWGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N Propylene glycol Chemical compound CC(O)CO DNIAPMSPPWPWGF-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 3
- 238000004458 analytical method Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000002245 particle Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000047 product Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000012634 fragment Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000000391 smoking effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- BOSAWIQFTJIYIS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2,2-trifluoroethane Chemical compound FC(F)(F)C(Cl)(Cl)Cl BOSAWIQFTJIYIS-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N Carbon dioxide Chemical compound O=C=O CURLTUGMZLYLDI-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 1
- 238000004435 EPR spectroscopy Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000002411 adverse Effects 0.000 description 1
- 235000011089 carbon dioxide Nutrition 0.000 description 1
- 239000007795 chemical reaction product Substances 0.000 description 1
- 150000001875 compounds Chemical class 0.000 description 1
- 230000003247 decreasing effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000001914 filtration Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000001678 irradiating effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000004806 packaging method and process Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
- A24B3/00—Preparing tobacco in the factory
- A24B3/18—Other treatment of leaves, e.g. puffing, crimpling, cleaning
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A24—TOBACCO; CIGARS; CIGARETTES; SIMULATED SMOKING DEVICES; SMOKERS' REQUISITES
- A24B—MANUFACTURE OR PREPARATION OF TOBACCO FOR SMOKING OR CHEWING; TOBACCO; SNUFF
- A24B15/00—Chemical features or treatment of tobacco; Tobacco substitutes, e.g. in liquid form
- A24B15/18—Treatment of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes
- A24B15/22—Treatment of tobacco products or tobacco substitutes by application of electric or wave energy or particle radiation
Definitions
- Our invention relates to a method of treating tobacco to reduce the amount of irritants formed when it is burned.
- Fresh tobacco smoke contains substances which are irritating and harmful to body tissue. Attempts to remove these substances based on a step of filtering the smoke have had varying degrees of success. Filters which are highly eflicient in removing tars make undesirable changes in the taste of the smoke, and yet do not remove some irritants.
- fresh smoke from burned tobacco contains a significant number of free radicals.
- free radicals are highly reactive, and, consequently, their presence in tobacco smoke is undesirable since they may combine with other particles in the smoke to form harmful substances, or they may react directly with body tissue. It is desirable to reduce the number of free radicals in fresh tobacco smoke.
- a method of treating tobacco comprising exposing said tobacco to at least one megarad of gamma radiation.
- Tobacco treated in accordance with our invention burns to produce smoke containing 25-30 percent less tar, about 50 percent less toluene, and about 50 percent fewer free radicals than smoke from untreated tobacco.
- the figure is an infrared analysis of the fraction of smoke condensate distilling above 150 C. from non-irradiated and irradiated cigarettes. As can be seen by comparing the curve for the smoke from the irradiated cigarette with the curve for the smoke from the non-irradiated cigarette, irradiation has decreased significantly the amount of tar produced upon burning tobacco.
- the products formed from irradiated tobacco are less irritating to body tissue than are the products formed from non-irradiated tobacco.
- the tobacco may be irradiated at any time in its processing from harvestinguntil after packaging for sale to the consumer.
- a rad is a measure of the energy absorbed per unit weight and is equal to 100 ergs per gram.
- a megarad is equal to 10 rads.
- the irradiation may be carried out to over 100 megarads, at this level the taste of the smoke produced on burning is adversely affected, and the dosage should be kept below 100 megarads, preferably from 5 to megarads.
- the optimum dose is from 10 to 25 megarads.
- the rate of irradiation is not critical and may be carried out from rates of less than 0.1 to greater than 10 megarads per hour.
- the limitations of the radiation facility employed will normally fix the irradiation rate.
- Example I Cigarettes irradiated to a level of 10 megarads by irradiating for 10 hours at a rate of 1 megarad per hour and non-irradiated control cigarettes were placed in a smoking machine designed to smoke 15 cigarettes simultaneously. Each cigarette was smoked in turn, once each minute. A puff consisted of a 35-milliliter intake of air over a Z-second period. The smoke was collected in a cold trap cooled with Dry Ice and propylene glycol. The collected smoke was washed from the trap twice with trichlorotrifluoroethane and three times with methylene chloride. The collected solutions were vacuum-distilled and the following fractions were collected:
- Example II Cigarettes irradiated to a level of 10' megarads and nonirradiated control cigarettes were smoked in the smoking machine of Example 1. Each cigarette was smoked at a rate of four puffs per minute and milliliters of air was taken per putf. he smoke was trapped as in Example I, the condensate was dissolved in benzene and examined in an electron spin resonance spectrometer within 15 minutes of collection. The relative signal intensities per milligram of condensate were 2.24- for the irradiated tobacco and 5.10 for the non-irradiated tobacco. This shows that the smoke from irradiated tobacco contained less than 50 percent as many free radicals as the smoke from non-irradiated tobacco.
- a process of treating harvested tobacco for the pnrposeof reducingvtars and free radicals comprising exposing it to at least one megarad of gamma radiation.
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- Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
- Toxicology (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Manufacturing Of Cigar And Cigarette Tobacco (AREA)
Description
Dec. 19, 1967 r H. v. BOENIG ETAL 3,353,694
METHOD OF REDUCING IRRITANTS IN TOBACCO BY GAMMA IRRADIATION Filed May 11, 1965 i 3 I I '2 a I 1 l E N l 2 l n: E
2 g \\J I; i D O :2 *5 S I 2 O I v 2 l I a E i WAVELENGTH Herman .V. Boenig Winqafe A. Lambertson- Walter J. Braun Homer 5. Myers ATTORNE,
(%) HDNVilIWSNVHi United States Patent 3,358,694 METHOD OF REDUCING IRRITANTS IN TOBACCO BY GAMMA IRRADIATION Herman V. Boenig, Wingate A. Lambertson, Walter J. Braun, and Homer S. Myers, Lexington, Ky., assignors to the United States of America as United States Atomic Energy Commission Filed May 11, 1965, Scr. No. 455,019 3 Claims. (Cl. 131-121) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A method modifying tobacco to produce less irritants when burned comprising exposing it to at least one megarad of gamma radiation.
Our invention relates to a method of treating tobacco to reduce the amount of irritants formed when it is burned.
Fresh tobacco smoke contains substances which are irritating and harmful to body tissue. Attempts to remove these substances based on a step of filtering the smoke have had varying degrees of success. Filters which are highly eflicient in removing tars make undesirable changes in the taste of the smoke, and yet do not remove some irritants.
It has been discovered that fresh smoke from burned tobacco contains a significant number of free radicals. As is well-known, free radicals are highly reactive, and, consequently, their presence in tobacco smoke is undesirable since they may combine with other particles in the smoke to form harmful substances, or they may react directly with body tissue. It is desirable to reduce the number of free radicals in fresh tobacco smoke.
It is one object of our invention to provide a method of treating tobacco to reduce the amount of irritants formed when the tobacco is burned.
It is another object to provide a method of treating tobacco to change the substances produced during burning without making undesirable changes in the taste of the smoke.
It is another object to provide a method of reducing the number of free radicals in fresh tobacco smoke.
Other objects of our invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the appended claims.
In accordance with our invention we have provided a method of treating tobacco comprising exposing said tobacco to at least one megarad of gamma radiation.
Tobacco treated in accordance with our invention burns to produce smoke containing 25-30 percent less tar, about 50 percent less toluene, and about 50 percent fewer free radicals than smoke from untreated tobacco.
The figure is an infrared analysis of the fraction of smoke condensate distilling above 150 C. from non-irradiated and irradiated cigarettes. As can be seen by comparing the curve for the smoke from the irradiated cigarette with the curve for the smoke from the non-irradiated cigarette, irradiation has decreased significantly the amount of tar produced upon burning tobacco.
While the mechanism by which irradiation of tobacco reduces the quantity of tars, toluene, and free radicals produced upon subsequent burning is not known, and we do not therefore wish to be bound by any theory, it is believed that gamma radiation breaks some of the complex molecules into fragments which either remain in that form or combine with other molecules or fragments. The result in either case is that the product con-.
tains dilferent particles than did the untreated tobacco. These new particles, being different, upon burning produce reaction products which difier from those produced by represented by the burning non-irradiated tobacco. Unexpectedly, the products formed from irradiated tobacco are less irritating to body tissue than are the products formed from non-irradiated tobacco.
In carrying out our process the tobacco may be irradiated at any time in its processing from harvestinguntil after packaging for sale to the consumer.
The quantity of radiation absorbed must exceed one megarad. A rad is a measure of the energy absorbed per unit weight and is equal to 100 ergs per gram. A megarad is equal to 10 rads.
While the irradiation may be carried out to over 100 megarads, at this level the taste of the smoke produced on burning is adversely affected, and the dosage should be kept below 100 megarads, preferably from 5 to megarads. The optimum dose is from 10 to 25 megarads.
The rate of irradiation is not critical and may be carried out from rates of less than 0.1 to greater than 10 megarads per hour. The limitations of the radiation facility employed will normally fix the irradiation rate.
Having thus described our invention, the following examples are offered to illustrate it in more detail.
Example I Cigarettes irradiated to a level of 10 megarads by irradiating for 10 hours at a rate of 1 megarad per hour and non-irradiated control cigarettes were placed in a smoking machine designed to smoke 15 cigarettes simultaneously. Each cigarette was smoked in turn, once each minute. A puff consisted of a 35-milliliter intake of air over a Z-second period. The smoke was collected in a cold trap cooled with Dry Ice and propylene glycol. The collected smoke was washed from the trap twice with trichlorotrifluoroethane and three times with methylene chloride. The collected solutions were vacuum-distilled and the following fractions were collected:
Fraction Vacuum Temperature 33 mm. Hg Room temperature to 50 C. 1 mm. Hg 50 C. to 150 C. Remaining residu Infrared analyses performed on these fractions showed that (1) in fraction 1 there were several compounds present in the smoke from non-irradiated tobacco which were absent in smoke from irradiated tobacco; (2) there was little difference between the samples in the second fraction; and (3) the smoke from irradiated tobacco showed a substantially smaller amount of all components in the third fraction, i.e., the tars, compared to the smoke of non-irradiated tobacco. The infrared analysis of the third fraction is given in the figure. As can be seen from this figure the amount of tar in the smoke from the irradiated tobacco is from 15% to 25% less than the amount in the smoke from the non-irradiated tobacco.
Example II Cigarettes irradiated to a level of 10' megarads and nonirradiated control cigarettes were smoked in the smoking machine of Example 1. Each cigarette was smoked at a rate of four puffs per minute and milliliters of air was taken per putf. he smoke was trapped as in Example I, the condensate was dissolved in benzene and examined in an electron spin resonance spectrometer within 15 minutes of collection. The relative signal intensities per milligram of condensate were 2.24- for the irradiated tobacco and 5.10 for the non-irradiated tobacco. This shows that the smoke from irradiated tobacco contained less than 50 percent as many free radicals as the smoke from non-irradiated tobacco.
The above. examples are offered to illustrate and not to limit our invention. Modifications such as changes in irradiation time and dose may be made Without departing from our invention.
Having thus clescribedour invention, we claim:
1. A process of treating harvested tobacco for the pnrposeof reducingvtars and free radicals comprising exposing it to at least one megarad of gamma radiation.
2: The process, of claim 1 wherein the tobacco is itradiated'to a level of: 5 to 75 megarads.
References Cited 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,926,035 9/1933 Chesley 3,142,759 7/1964 Jefferson et a1.
RALPH G. NELSON, Primary, Examiner. w A. B. CROFT, Assistant Examiner.
Claims (1)
1. A PROCESS OF TREATING HARVESTED TOBACCO FOR THE PURPOSE OF REDUCING TARS AND FREE RADICALS COMPRISING EXPOSING IT TO AT LEAST ONE MEGARAD OF GAMMA RADIATION.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US455019A US3358694A (en) | 1965-05-11 | 1965-05-11 | Method of reducing irritants in tobacco by gamma irradiation |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| US455019A US3358694A (en) | 1965-05-11 | 1965-05-11 | Method of reducing irritants in tobacco by gamma irradiation |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| US3358694A true US3358694A (en) | 1967-12-19 |
Family
ID=23807034
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| US455019A Expired - Lifetime US3358694A (en) | 1965-05-11 | 1965-05-11 | Method of reducing irritants in tobacco by gamma irradiation |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US3358694A (en) |
Cited By (5)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3589374A (en) * | 1967-11-01 | 1971-06-29 | Tomizo Aoki | Method of and container for treating tobacco to reduce alkaloid and tar content thereof |
| US6311695B1 (en) * | 1996-06-28 | 2001-11-06 | Regent Court Technologies | Method of treating tobacco to reduce nitrosamine content, and products produced thereby |
| EP0991329A4 (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 2006-06-14 | Regent Court Technologies | Method of treating tobacco to reduce nitrosamine content, and products produced thereby |
| WO2010053580A2 (en) * | 2008-11-10 | 2010-05-14 | Nicure B.V. | Reducing the risk of smoke-related disease |
| CN110214971A (en) * | 2019-07-11 | 2019-09-10 | 中国烟草总公司郑州烟草研究院 | A method of promoting discarded tobacco leaf organoleptic quality |
Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US1926035A (en) * | 1930-02-21 | 1933-09-12 | American Tobacco Co | Method of treating tobacco |
| US3142759A (en) * | 1960-01-20 | 1964-07-28 | Atomic Energy Authority Uk | Monorail package irradiation plant |
-
1965
- 1965-05-11 US US455019A patent/US3358694A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
Patent Citations (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US1926035A (en) * | 1930-02-21 | 1933-09-12 | American Tobacco Co | Method of treating tobacco |
| US3142759A (en) * | 1960-01-20 | 1964-07-28 | Atomic Energy Authority Uk | Monorail package irradiation plant |
Cited By (7)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US3589374A (en) * | 1967-11-01 | 1971-06-29 | Tomizo Aoki | Method of and container for treating tobacco to reduce alkaloid and tar content thereof |
| US6311695B1 (en) * | 1996-06-28 | 2001-11-06 | Regent Court Technologies | Method of treating tobacco to reduce nitrosamine content, and products produced thereby |
| EP0991329A4 (en) * | 1997-06-20 | 2006-06-14 | Regent Court Technologies | Method of treating tobacco to reduce nitrosamine content, and products produced thereby |
| WO2010053580A2 (en) * | 2008-11-10 | 2010-05-14 | Nicure B.V. | Reducing the risk of smoke-related disease |
| WO2010053580A3 (en) * | 2008-11-10 | 2010-08-05 | Nicure B.V. | Reducing the risk of smoke-related disease |
| CN110214971A (en) * | 2019-07-11 | 2019-09-10 | 中国烟草总公司郑州烟草研究院 | A method of promoting discarded tobacco leaf organoleptic quality |
| CN110214971B (en) * | 2019-07-11 | 2021-12-17 | 中国烟草总公司郑州烟草研究院 | Method for improving sensory quality of inferior tobacco leaves |
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