Sequential Extraction and Enrichment of Nicotine, Chlorogenic Acid, and Solanesol from Tobacco Waste as Bioactive Components

Bioactive components found in tobacco waste, such as nicotine, chlorogenic acid, and solanesol, have significant medical and industrial applications, and the discarding of tobacco waste leads to resource waste while also increasing environmental issues. This study aims to use waste tobacco as a raw material to systematically explore an efficient, economic sequential extraction and purification process for the three bioactive components. Through optimization experiments, factors including extraction solvent, extraction method, and type of adsorption resin were examined. A process integrating solvent extraction with macroporous adsorption resin was developed to sequentially enrich and purify nicotine, chlorogenic acid, and solanesol. In the method, the organic phase in the solvent partitioning extraction is used to obtain highly lipophilic solanesol, while the extracted aqueous layer is directly subjected to elution and separation through a downstream macroporous adsorption resin column chromatography, yielding nicotine and chlorogenic acid in sequence. By this process, nicotine, chlorogenic acid, and solanesol can be sequentially separated and enriched in different fractions with the purities in the final product, with overall recovery of 78.6%, 93.3% and 71.9% from waste tobacco extract, respectively. This approach thus provides a sustainable pathway for the high-value utilization of waste tobacco leaves, offering substantial economic and environmental benefits.