When we talk about nicotine, our thoughts inevitably turn to tobacco and cigarette consumption. However, it is a substance that has completely natural origins and that, in small quantities, is also present in other elements of the plant kingdom, often unsuspected. Discovered in the sixteenth century, nicotine is an alkaloid compound produced as a defense mechanism by some plants, whose function is to deter herbivores and some insects. Although its highest concentration is found in tobacco, its presence is not exclusive to tobacco. The higher concentration: a question of leaves and combustion In dried tobacco leaves, the nicotine concentration reaches significantly higher levels than in other... [Read more]