Nitrogen determination in Tobacco

It is considered that flavour and taste of smoke is correlated with the nitrogenous constituents. Accordingto Indian Central Tobacco Reseach Institute (CTRI) fluecured tobacco containing 1.6 to 2.3 % total nitrogen gives the most satisfying smoke, whereas the acceptable limit of total nitrogen is 1.0-3.0 %.High level of nitrogen in tobacco is associated with a high level of nicotine. A low nitrogen content would result in ‘washed out’, pale coloured leaf, lacking in rich colour characteristic of good tobacco. Therefore, the determination of total nitrogen is an important quality control measure in the tobacco industry.Here, the determination of nitrogen in tobacco is performed using the SpeedDigester K-425 and KjelMaster K-375.