Approximately 20,000 mature green tobacco leaves were processed individually in the frozen state to yield a sample of trichome fragments from which 7.2 grams of ether-soluble material was recovered. This crude mixture was subjected to a long series of fractionations involving solvent partitioning, paper-, column-, and gas chromatography. Only fifteen of the very many compounds contained in the sample have been tentatively identified. Of these, eleven had been previously reported as constituents of whole leaves. Methyl propyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, iso-octyl phthalate, and n-undecyl acetate are newly identified constituents of tobacco and may be present only in trichomes.

(Full article published with kind permission from "Tobacco International")