Extensive protein hydrolysis occurred during the first week of curing Burley tobacco on the stalk. The products of protein hydrolysis apparently migrated into the stalk as there was a loss of 30% in total nitrogen and no accumulation of ammonia, amide or alpha-amino nitrogen in the leaf web. Almost half of the soluble nitrogenous compounds of the Burley tobacco leaf remain unidentified. There was no net change in this unidentified fraction, in nitrate or in nicotine during curing. Storage and aging of the Burley leaf resulted in losses of nicotine and of unidentified nitrogenous compounds. The results are compared with earlier studies.

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