This document discusses the medicinal uses of tobacco. It notes that tobacco is in the Solanaceae family and the leaves and dried cured leaves are commonly used. Tobacco contains nicotine and other constituents. While smoking tobacco is harmful, the document outlines several traditional medicinal uses of tobacco leaves and nicotine extracts, including as a sedative, expectorant, insecticide, and treatment for toothaches, skin rashes, and snake bites. Some research also suggests nicotine may help treat neurological disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases in small doses. The document concludes by noting tobacco is an effective natural insect repellent for gardens.

1. MEDICINAL USES
OF TOBACCO

2. Tobacco
Botanical name: Nicotiana tabacum
Nicotiana rustica
Family: Solanaceae
 Synonyms-Tabacca, Tabaci Folia
 Part Used-Leaves, cured and dried.
 Habitat-Virginia, America; and cultivated
with other species in China, Turkey, Greece,
Holland, France, Germany and most sub-
tropical countries.

3. Description
 The genus derived its name from Joan Nicot, a Portuguese who introduced the Tobacco
plant into France.
 The specific name being derived from the Haitian word for the pipe in which the herb is
smoked.
 Tobacco is an annual, with a long fibrous root, stem erect, round, hairy; it branches near
the top and is from 3 to 6 feet high.
 Leaves large, numerous, alternate, sessile, somewhat decurrent, ovate, lanceolate, pointed,
entire, and hairy, pale-green colour, brittle, narcotic odour, with a nauseous, bitter acrid
taste.
 Nicotine is a volatile oil, inflammable, powerfull alkaline present in tobacco with an acrid
smell and a burning taste.

4.  By distillation with water it yields a concrete volatile oil termed
nicotianin or Tobacco camphor, which is tasteless, crystalline, and
smells of Tobacco.
 other constituents are albumen, resin, gum, and inorganic matters
Constituents
• The most important constituent is the alkaloid Nicotine,
nicotianin, nicotinine, nicoteine, nicoteline.
• After leaves are smoked the nicotine decomposes into pyridine,
furfurol, collidine, hydrocyanic acid, carbon-monoxide, etc.
• The poisonous effects of Tobacco smoke are due to these
substances of decomposed nicotine.

7. Is the only use of
tobacco is for
making
cigarettes?

8. MEDICINAL USES
 Medicinally it is used as a sedative, diuretic, expectorant, discutient, and internally only as
an emetic, when all other emetics fail.
 The smoke injected into the rectum is beneficial against strangulated hernia, for obstinate
constipation, and also in tetanus.
 A cataplasm of the leaves may be used as an ointment for cutaneous diseases.
 The leaves in combination with the leaves of belladonna or stramonium make an excellent
application for obstinate ulcers, painful tremors and spasmodic affections.

9.  The tobacco leaf juice cures facial neuralgia if rubbed along the tracks of the affected
nerve.
.
 Externally nicotine is an antiseptic.
 Tobacco in the form of an enema of the leaves was used to relax muscular spasms, to
facilitate the reduction of dislocations.
 Tobacco leaves should be considered an ideal plant for homeopathic practices, self-reliant
living as well as a great bartering item for a long term emergency.
 A pipe smoked after breakfast assists the action of the bowels.
 An infusion of Tobacco is generally used in horticulture as an insecticide.

10.  Skin Rashes, Eczema and rheumatism - tobacco leaves put on skin inflammations to help
soothe and relieve pain.
 Toothaches – tobacco leaves could also be placed in the mouth to alleviate pain
from toothaches.
 Rattlesnake and Insect Bites - nicotine in the tobacco would help relieve pain as well as help
draw out the poison and heal the snake wound. After the poison had been sucked out, chewed
leaves could be applied to cuts or bound on the bite with a bandage.
 Colds - tobacco mixed with leaves from the Desert Sage plant, or the root of Indian Balsam
(or cough root), Leptotaenia Multifida cures cold and would also help with asthma and
tuberculosis. Smoked leaves clear out nasal passages.
 Toothpaste - powdered tobacco is rubbed on the teeth for cleaning.

11.  Tobacco is an excellent source of
phytochemicals viz., solanesol, nicotine,
proteins, tobacco seed oil and organic acids
(malic and citric) which have pharmaceutical,
agricultural and industrial uses.
 It has been established that tobacco seed oil is
free from toxic substances.
 Refined tobacco seed oil is widely used as
edible oil in countries like Bulgaria, Turkey,
Tunisia and Greece, where tobacco is grown.

12. EVIL PLANT MAY BENEFIT RARE DISORDERS
 In 1926, it was reported that, when patients with certain types of parkinsonism were
treated with subcutaneous injections of nicotine extracted from Nicitiana Rustica,
many of them showed immediate improvement.
 A controlled study was done and in several cases, the risk of Parkinson's disease was
lower in smokers than in non-smokers.
 intravenous administration of nicotine to non-smoking Alzheimer's patients produces
significant improvements in long-term recall and attention span.
 low doses of nicotine can have dramatic effects in controlling the symptoms of
Tourette's syndrome, a rare neurologic disorder.

16. Tobacco is a great insect repellent for the
kitchen garden
 Aphid Control:mixture of 1 cup. powdered garlic,1 cup compost and 1 cup tobacco
(organic preferably) is mixed with the soil and applied around the base of infested
plants.
 Peach Tree Borers – Sprinkling tobacco dust around peach trees will deter the dreaded
peach tree borer from infesting tree.
 Leaf Roller: mixture of tobacco dust, pyrethrum powder (dried pyrethrum flowers
crumbled into a powder) is made into a solution to spray on the leaf roller.
 Garden Centipede :Drenching the soil with a mixture of water, garlic and tobacco is
effective against centipede.