In Situ Analysis of Tobacco Leaves Based on Microwave Plasma Torch Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Tobacco is an important economic crop worldwide. Tobacco leaves contain a large number of natural products. Therefore, the analysis of tobacco composition is crucial for the control of tobacco safety and quality assessment. Microwave plasma torch desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MPT-MS) is an emerging ambient mass spectrometry (AMS) technique that can be used for rapid real-time analysis of samples without pretreatment. Our work focuses on the chemical composition analysis of tobacco using MPT-MS, and 14 compounds were detected in green flue-cured tobacco leaves, while 30 compounds were detected in cured flue-cured tobacco leaves, which confirms that curing can enhance the flavor of cigarettes. Furthermore, we successfully in situ identified characteristic fragment ions of α/β-CBD (α/β-cembranoids), an important aroma compound in tobacco by MPT-MS. The results demonstrate the capability of MPT-MS for in situ analysis of tobacco components and its potential for evaluating tobacco quality.