Determination of eight tobacco alkaloids in flue-cured tobacco samples by gas chromatography with nitrogen chemiluminescence detection (NCD)

A reliable, sensitive and rapid method for determination of eight alkaloids in flue-cured tobacco by dual-column-dual-detector gas chromatography with nitrogen chemiluminescence detection (GC-NCD) has been established. At first, the extraction effects of several factors such as solid to liquid ratio, extraction time, sodium hydroxide solution volume and sodium hydroxide solution mass fraction on the extraction efficiency were simultaneously investigated using an orthogonal array design (OAD). Then, the NCD was compared to other detectors and showed some unique advantages. The analytical method met the strict quantitative requirement by optimizing chromatographic conditions and using dual-column confirmation. Finally, the performance of the proposed method was tested for the extraction and determination of the eight alkaloids in flue-cured tobacco and satisfactory results were achieved.