Extraction of Flavonoids and Quantification of Rutin from waste Tobacco Leaves

The potential of tobacco waste as a viable source of medicinally important flavonoids like rutin has been investigated. Three flavonoids, apigenin, quercetin and rutin, have been isolated from waste tobacco leaves, and their identities have been confirmed by UV-visible, 1 H-NMR and 13 C-NMR spectroscopy. By using analytical HPLC, the amount of rutin present in the tobacco leaves, before and after fermentation, and also in waste tobacco leaves, has been determined as 1.5, 0.5 and 0.6%, respectively.