Fate of carbohydrates during thermal degradation of tobacco.

THE least-stable and least-explored group of substances in tobacco are the ‘dynamic constituents’, composed mainly of carbohydrates, organic acids, and unidentified substances of a related nature which are characterized by a high degree of mutability. Because of the high content and the reactivity of glucose and fructose in ‘bright’ tobacco, carbohydrates are considered the major constituent which undergoes modifications in harvested tobacco. Various oxidative and condensation reactions have been postulated1–3, but the detailed nature of carbohydrate conversions and related chemical changes in tobacco have not been investigated.