Improvement of nicotine yield by ethanolic heat reflux extraction of nicotiana tabacum var. Virginia origin of ponorogo

Nicotine is known as an active compound contained in tobacco, which can be used for many purposes including pharmaceutical substances. Current extraction methods reported yields between 0.3 to 3.6 wt% of nicotine per dry weight of tobacco leaves. This study proposed an ethanolic heat reflux extraction (EHRE) method with temperature at chiller system 0°C and an ultrasonic applied before an EHRE process. The extraction was carried out at low temperature and moderate extraction time to increase the yield of nicotine from Nicotiana tabacum var. Virginia origin of Ponorogo. The highest yield of nicotine (6.3 wt%) was achieved at 6 hours. The yield was characterized using thin-layer chromatography and ultra-performance liquid chromatography. Optimum reflux in EHRE increased the nicotine yield to 60% more than the highest yield reported in the literatures. This significant improvement is important for further purification in nicotine production. The EHRE method in this study has a potential to be increased to a larger scale due to its ability to produce a high quantity of nicotine.