Nicotine, a chemical most commonly found in the plants of the Solanaceae family, can be an alkaloid and is available accumulated in the leaves of these plants, though the biosynthesis of the chemical occurs in the roots of the plants. Nicotine is one of the major components of addictive plants like tobacco (0.6%-3.0%) and is the reason behind their addiction in humans due to its psychoactive nature.

The follow are 10 interesting factual statements about nicotine.

1. Etymology

The name nicotine comes from the scientific name of the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum. The scientific name of the tobacco plant is itself named the French ambassador to Portugal Jean Nicot de Villemain. parhaat nikotiinipussit Villeman is credited for sending tobacco seeds and plant saplings to Paris in 1560 for its use in medicinal purposes.

2. Extraction

Nicotine was first extracted from the tobacco plant by German physician Dr. Wilhelm Heinrich Posselt and chemist Karl Ludwig Reimann in 1828. Following its discovery Posselt and Reimann labelled it as a poison. In fact nicotine is an antiherbivore chemical, which causes addiction when consumed in smaller amounts (1mg or less) and death if used high amounts (30mg-60mg).

3. Chemistry

Nicotine is an alkaloid with the chemical formula C10H14N2. Its IUPAC name is 3[2,5-1-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl]pyridine. It includes a molecular mass of 162.12g/mol. Nicotine is really a hygroscopic liquid that is miscible with water as a nitrogenous base. Its density is 1.01g/cm3, melting point -79oC and boiling point 247oC. The nicotine molecule has a half life of 2 hours and its own metabolism is hepatic. Nicotine is also optically active and has two enantiomeric forms.

4. Nicotine as an insecticide

As already said nicotine can be an antiherbivore drug which if taken in huge amounts is fatal alive forms. This is why nicotine laden tobacco has been used being an insecticide even before the World War II. But following the WWII its usage drastically lowered due to the availability of cheap synthetic insecticides which tend to be more easily available than tobacco and less harmful to mammals. But in the recent years the hype surrounding organic farming has again increased the interest of the farmers in the usage of tobacco as a pesticide as an alternate to chemical pesticides.

5. Nicotine addiction

Our central nervous system has certain nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Nicotine binds to many of these and increases the amount of several neurotransmitters. Among these neurotransmitters dopamine is one such neurotransmitter which is significantly increased during nicotine use and is responsible for the sense of euphoria and relaxation caused by the application of tobacco (nicotine) products.

6. Psychoactive effects of nicotine

Nicotine is really a psychoactive substance since it is mood altering. It causes both euphoria and relaxation. In your body nicotine is metabolised in the liver. First following its metabolism nicotine results in the release of glucose from the liver and epinephrine from the adrenal medulla. This sudden release of glucose and epinephrine causes euphoria following the intake of nicotine. After the initial euphoria nicotine results in relaxation, increased alertness and sharpness by working on different neurotransmitters of your body. Nicotine also has pain relieving properties.

7. Side effects of nicotine intake

Tough it looks like nicotine is a wonderful substance to improve one’s sharpness, induce calmness and elevate one’s mood you can find more negative aspects of nicotine intake than positive. Among these the most frequent unwanted effects of nicotine intake are an increased threat of hypertension and heart attacks. It really is sad that each cigarette that a man smokes reduces his life span by 14 years. Moreover since nicotine has been found to affect the working of Estrogen on hippocampus, hence in the long run nicotine users are prone to amnesia along with other related diseases.

8. Toxicity

Nicotine is known as to be more toxic than most typical drugs like heroin and cocaine. More harm is done by nicotine to the human body because it is readily absorbed by the bloodstream and reaches the brain through the lungs within 7 seconds of its intake either orally or as nicotine patches.

9. Use of nicotine in medical science

Though nicotine isn’t a doctor’s companion, it really is yet not his worst foe. Nicotine known for its pain relieving properties is being researched upon to be used as a potential pain killer minus its harmful effects. Nicotine has also been found to reduce preeclampsia, allergic asthma; amongst others by acting as an anti-inflammatory agent.

10. Nicotine in literature

Nicotine has been personified in popular literature as Nick O’ Teen, a humanoid villainous character in Superman comics that was created as a part of anti-nicotine drive to educate children about the ill-effects of nicotine intake in virtually any form.

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