Abstract
NITROSAMINES could be formed in cigarette smoke by reactions between secondary amines and oxides of nitrogen1,2. Several secondary amines, including anabasine, nornicotine, dimethylamine, diethylamine, pyrrolidine, piperidine and proline, have been detected in cigarette smoke, which also contains about 200 parts per million of oxides of nitrogen (as the sum of NO and NO2) (refs. 3 and 4). The nitrosamine derivatives of some of these amines have already been shown to be carcinogenic5,6. We have reported that nitrosoanabasine administered in the drinking water induced benign and malignant tumours of the œsophagus of rats1. In parallel with these biological investigations, attempts have been made to detect nitrosoanabasine and nitrosonornicotine in cigarette smoke. So far these attempts have not been successful, although methods capable of detecting small amounts (for example, 5 µg) of specific nitrosamines have been developed1. Lack of success may be due either to instability of nitrosamines under the conditions prevailing in cigarette smoke or to interference in their detection by other constituents of the smoke. Nitrosoanabasine could not be detected in cigarette smoke condensates to which it had been deliberately added nor in the smoke of cigarettes which had been impregnated with the substance before smoking. If these negative results are due to instability of the nitrosamines, the possibility of their biological importance is only ruled out if their half-lives are very short. Further investigations into these problems are in progress.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Boyland, E., Roe, F. J. C., Gorrod, J. W., and Mitchley, B. C. V., Brit. J. Cancer (in the press).
Druckrey, H., and Preussmann, R., Naturwissen., 49, 498 (1962).
Haagen-Smit, A. J., Brunelle, M. F., and Hara, J., Arch. Indust. Health, 20, 399 (1959).
Bokoven, C., and Niessen, H. J., Nature, 192, 458 (1961).
Magee, P. N., and Barnes, J. M., Brit. J. Cancer, 10, 114 (1956).
Druckrey, H., Steinhoff, D., Beather, H., Schneider, H., and Klärner, P., Arzneimittel-Forsch., 13, 320 (1963).
Quin, L. D., J. Org. Chem., 24, 914 (1959).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BOYLAND, E., ROE, F. & GORROD, J. Induction of Pulmonary Tumours in Mice by Nitrosonornicotine, a Possible Constituent of Tobacco Smoke. Nature 202, 1126 (1964). https://doi.org/10.1038/2021126a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2021126a0
This article is cited by
-
LC–MS/MS analysis of carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines in Spodoptera litura using the QuEChERS method
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Disruption of retinal pigment epithelial cell properties under the exposure of cotinine
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
Cigarette smoking hinders human periodontal ligament-derived stem cell proliferation, migration and differentiation potentials
Scientific Reports (2015)
-
Formation of genotoxic products from N-nitrosoheptamethyleneimine (NHMI), 4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-Pyridyl)-1-Butanone (NNK) and N?-Nitrosonornicotine (NNN) by isolated rabbit lung cells
Cell Biology and Toxicology (1990)
-
Autoradiographic observations on the distribution and metabolism of N?-/14C/nitrosonornicotine in mice
Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology (1980)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.