Analysis of a Tumor-Inhibiting Fraction of Tobacco Smoke Condensate

Abstract

A tumor-inhibiting neutral fraction of cigarette smoke condensate was partially characterized by use of a combination of gel filtration and gas chromatography. This fraction contained solanesol, sterols, and other neutral oxygenated compounds, such as acetophenones and fluorenones. The compound, 1,3-1ndandlone, was Identified for the first time In cigarette smoke. I ntroduction A step-wise process for the fractionation of cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) has been developed at this laboratory to separate and then to identify those components with biological activity (1,2). The procedure involves fractionation of CSC into acidic, basic, and neutral fractions by acid-base extractions. Subsequently, the are further separated by column chromatography on silicic acid with increasingly polar solvent mixtures. The fraction eluted by diethyl and called ether soluble neutrals (ESN) was recently shown to inhibit the tumor-promoting effect of 12-0-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate when applied concurrently with it on the backs of mice (3). Various compounds in CSC have been shown to inhibit tumors (4,5). Oxygenated neutral components of polluted air have also been shown to inhibit tumors (6). The present report describes a preliminary study on the composition of the ESN fraction of CSC.