Abstract
The caustic alkali soluble-fraction contained in the essential oil of Japanese Burley tobacco leaf (JBTL) was investigated. Guaiacol, phenol, eugenol, p-allylpyrocatechol and m-cresol were isolated and identified. The total amount of phenolic compounds was strikingly larger, amounting to more than twenty times as much as that of the Japanese Flue Cured tobacco leaf (JFCTL). Guaiacol, the medium constituent in the essential oil of JFCTL, was found to be the predominant constituent exsisting in that of JBTL. Besides these phenols, small amounts of benzaldehyde, 5-methylfurfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (as carbonyls); as well as other higher fatty acids were isolated from this fraction.
