Ah receptor ligands in tobacco smoke

Tar particulates from cigarette smoke contain compounds with affinity for the Ah receptor. The sidestream activity is larger than that of the mainstream with a ratio of about 5. The compounds causing the affinity appear in the neutral fraction after chemical fractionation excluding basic and acidic components as major contributors to the affinity. The affinity cannot be explained by benzo[a]pyrene and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons but it might be caused by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds and by oxidized tryptophan derivatives.