Nicotine and Its Effects on the Body

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Nicotine and Its Effects on the Body

• Chem. 471 Presentation
• By David Kistner

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History and background

• History
• Produced naturally in tobacco plants
• Current consumption
• Other uses
• Chemical Properties

3
History

• Nicotine has been used in tabacco for thousands
  of years
• First recorded history of smoking dates back to
  600-1000 B.C.

4
Production

• Nicotine occurs naturally in the tobacco plant.
• Exact production nicotine is hard to determine
• Nicotine can be isolated and synthesized, but
  majority is produced and used in conjunction with
  tobacco, i.e. Nicotine is consumed when tobacco
  is consumed.

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Consumption

• Currently, 62 million Americans smoke
• 8 million Americans use chewing tobacco
• In 1999 Americans consumed 415 billion
  cigarettes.
• This does not include any other form of nicotine
  (patches, gums, cigars, etc.)

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Other uses

• Insecticide
• Herbicide
• Medicinal

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Chemical Properties

• Very soluble in fat. Kow value of 2.6
• Structure of nicotine

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Methods of Absorption

• Lungs
• Skin
• Ingestion

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Lungs

• Most people absorb nicotine in the lungs while
  smoking.
• Second hand smoke contains little to no nicotine.
  
• A typical cigarette contains 20 mg of nicotine
• 2.5 mg of nicotine is absorbed
• Within 15 seconds of smoking, nicotine has
  reached the brain. Rapidly absorbed

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Skin

• Nicotine readily is absorbed through the skin
• Idea behind the patch
• Can lead to nicotine poisoning and death if
  around too much, i.e. tobacco farmers and farmers
  who use nicotine as an insecticide.

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Ingestion

• Majority of Nicotine poisoning victoms are from
  ingestion.
• Causes ulcers and vomiting
• Least used path for absorption

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Toxicity

• Immediate results
• Long term effects
• Addiction
• Tolerance

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Immediate results

• Stimulant and depressant (dose dependant)
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• more alert feeling

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Long term effects

• Related to cancer
• Addiction
• Increase in cholesterol
• Physical dependence

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Mechanism of Toxicity

• Production of Adrenaline
• Blocks the production of insulin
• Increase in metabolism
• Cholinergic neurons stimulated.
• Release of glucose stores
• Due to release of epinephrine and stimulated
  nervous system

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Toxicity in the brain

• Stimulates brain activity
• Releases dopamine
• Releases glutamate
• Increased production of endorphins
• Increased production of acetylcholine

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Acetylcholine Receptors

• Nicotine stimulates the receptors
• Leads to an increase in production of
  acetylcholine by postsynaptic cell
• Overexcites the cell and causes an explosion of
  activity
• Eventually leads to paralysis of the cell

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Detoxification

• Enzyme CYP2A6 can act on nicotine followed by
  oxidation by aldehyde oxidase to form cotinine,
  which is easily excreted in urine.
• Most of the nicotine does this in the liver, some
  is converted in the lungs
• Remaining is filtered out by the kidneys
• Nicotine has a very short half live in the human
  body. About 1 hour
• This is why smokers need a constant intake of
  nicotine

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Conclusion

• Nicotine is a harmful and addicting drug
• Has effects on many systems in the human body.
• Can act as a stimulant or a depressant
• Major mechanism of toxicity is the stimulation of
  the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors