Compound Monograph
Nicotine
Nicotine is the principal stimulant alkaloid of tobacco and a potent agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Sources · 5
Where Does It Come From?
Nicotine is a naturally occurring pyridine–pyrrolidine alkaloid, found in Tobacco and 4 other sources. It is flagged as toxic.
Principal source Tobacco Nicotiana tabacum Herb monograph → 
Source Coca Erythroxylum coca Herb monograph → 
Source Horsetail Equisetum arvense Herb monograph → 
Source Mapacho Nicotiana rustica Herb monograph → Concentration
Content by Source
Concentrations not reported. No percent-dry-weight or mg/g figures have been published for this compound in its source plants.
Research & Evidence
Nicotine is the main alkaloid of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) and a potent agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It produces a mix of stimulant and relaxing effects, mild improvements in attention, and strong reinforcement that underlies its high addictive potential. Medicinally, purified nicotine is used in replacement therapies (gums, patches, lozenges) to help people stop smoking.
Toxicity & Safety
Nicotine itself is highly addictive and acutely toxic in concentrated form: ingestion of liquid nicotine or e-liquid can cause serious poisoning, with nausea, vomiting, racing or irregular heartbeat, seizures and, at high doses, death. The well-documented harms of smoking come largely from combustion products rather than nicotine alone, but nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure and is not advised in pregnancy. Keep concentrated products away from children and pets.
Dosage
A typical cigarette delivers on the order of 1 mg of absorbed nicotine; replacement products are dosed to approximate steady exposure. These figures describe typical exposures studied in research and are not a recommendation.
