Pigments Found in Chloroplast, their Isolation and Functions

Pigments of the chloroplast such as chlorophyll is in fact a mixture of very closely related pigments of which chlorophyll is just one of them. You can verify the composition of this plant pigment by extracting the pigment from the leaves of plants with acetone and separating them into their component pigments using paper chromatography. Five distinct pigments can be identified from this separation:

(i)  Chlorophyll a (blue-green)

(ii) Chlorophyll b (yellow-green)

(iii) Xanthophylls (yellow)

(iv) Carotene (orange)

(v) Phaeophytin (grey, which is a breakdown product of chlorophyll)

When separate solutions of each of the above listed pigments of the chloroplast are made and their absorption spectrum determined, it can be clearly shown that chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b absorb light from both the red and blue/violet parts of the spectrum. It would also show that xanthophylls and carotene absorb light only from the blue/violet part. Chlorophyll a is the most abundant pigment and is of wide and universal occurrence in all photosynthesizing plants. The function of chlorophyll a is to absorb light energy and convert it into chemical energy. Other pigments also perform this function and then hands over the energy converted to chlorophyll a.

The chlorophyll structure is quite complex. It belongs to a group of organic radical called porphyrins and has magnesium as its metallic radical which is a characteristic feature of porphyrins because they form complexes with heavy metals. Other porphyrin pigments include haemoglobin and some respiratory pigments but the ability of chlorophyll to absorb light may not be unconnected with the presence of the metal magnesium unlike haemoglobin which contains iron.

Pigments are substances that absorb visible light. Photosynthetic pigments are coloured compounds that help in the process of photosynthesis. They are found in the chloroplasts of plants.

During photosynthesis, pigments absorb different wavelengths of light. Chlorophyll a and b absorb red and blue wavelengths, while carotenoids absorb orange-red and blue wavelengths of light.

What are the Pigments found in Chloroplast?

Chlorophyll is the pigment that gives plants their green color and enables them to create their own food through photosynthesis. It is essential for sustaining life on Earth and providing oxygen to the atmosphere. It is found in chloroplasts, which are tiny organelles within the plant cells where photosynthesis occurs. While they are microscopic in size, they have a significant role to play in the health of our planet.

In photosynthesis, water and carbon dioxide are converted into sugar and release oxygen. Pigments, also known as biochromes, act as light traps in the chloroplast lamellae to aid in the process. There are four photosynthetic pigments in a chloroplast: chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, xanthophylls and carotenoids. These are also called accessory pigments because they help to absorb and trap light that is required for photosynthesis.

Each of these pigments absorbs light in a different part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Chlorophyll a absorbs the red and blue parts of the spectrum, while chlorophyll b absorbs green light. The varying absorption of these pigments explains why leaves and other plant parts are not all the same shade of green.

These accessory pigments also have a molecular structure that facilitates the transfer of electrons. For example, xanthophylls are able to accept and donate electrons, which is not possible with chlorophyll a. Xanthophyll pigments absorb the yellow and violet parts of the spectrum, which helps to give a brighter color to autumn leaves.

Carotenoids are fat soluble and do not dissolve in water. They are primarily produced in the plastids of plants, but can be found in the stroma lamellae as well. They are considered an ancient group of pigments and are believed to have evolved from cyanobacteria billions of years ago. These pigments reflect orange and yellow, enabling them to efficiently hand off absorbed solar energy to the chlorophyll molecules in a leaf.

Functions of Pigments found in Chloroplast

Plants use pigments for a wide variety of physiological and biological functions. For example, some plants produce pigment molecules that advertise rewards for animals that pollinate their flowers or disperse their seeds. Plants also use pigments to protect them from damage and stress, such as cold, disease, or nutritional deficiency. The pigments are soluble and may be incorporated into lipids or other cell structures to provide color and texture.

Pigments found in chloroplasts play a critical role in photosynthesis. These pigments absorb light energy and convert it into chemical energy stored in sugar and other organic molecules. The chloroplasts are membrane-bound organelles that contain pigment molecules such as chlorophyll a and b, a- and b-carotenes, lutein, and violaxanthin. Other pigments, such as bilirubin, hemoglobin, and melanin, are soluble but do not fit the strict definition of “pigment.”

In the chloroplast, pigments absorbing the visible light frequencies range from blue to red. The most important of these is chlorophyll, which absorbs blue and red wavelengths of light and reflects green. Chlorophyll is the reason why green is the color of most vegetation and also the reason why plants are so good at soaking up light energy.

Another group of pigments found in the chloroplast is carotenoids, which are fat-soluble natural pigments that give fruits, vegetables, and some algae their bright colors. These pigments are also involved in the process of photosynthesis, but they are not as essential as chlorophyll. They are known to act as antioxidants, protecting the cells from free radical damage and other stress reactions. They can even help to prevent senescence, or death of the tissue. They can also serve as a food source for bacteria, which are then used to drive the photosynthetic reactions.

Isolation and Extraction of Pigments found in Chloroplast

Chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments are found in the chloroplast of a plant cell. They are bound non-covalently to protein as pigment-protein complexes and have important functions in photosynthesis. They include light harvesting, energy transfer, photochemical redox reactions and protection against damage. These pigments are characterized by their polar macrocycle rings and non-polar hydrocarbon tails. Chlorophylls have a reduced ring D, making them more polar than carotenoid pigments, which have an aldehyde group at the macrocycle rings. Chlorophylls have strong absorption bands in the blue and red spectral regions, with one band polarized along the x-axis and the other polarized along the y-axis.

The polarity of a pigment is influenced by the chemical structure, its position on the molecule, the number of conjugated double bonds and the presence or absence of hydrogen atoms. A more polar pigment will have a larger dipole moment, whereas a less polar pigment will have a smaller one. The position and size of the absorption bands are also influenced by the temperature, solvent used and working conditions.

A method is described for isolating pigments from chloroplasts by using paper chromatography. Leaves are ground in a hypertonic solution of sugar and the chloroplasts are suspended in the solution. The cytoplasmic proteins do not disintegrate in this condition, so they can be separated from the rest of the cells. The chloroplasts are then dissolved in 75 per cent acetone and the pigments are extracted from them. The quantity of each pigment is compared colorimetrically with the total amount of pigment obtained from three grams of leaf material.

The crude extract of the pigments is spotted onto a piece of achromatography paper. The spots are then dry and a photograph of the chromatogram is taken. The pigments separate on the paper based on their different rates of movement through the solvent. For example, a pigment with a larger polar group moves more slowly than one with a smaller polar group. By comparing the Rf values of the spots, students can work out which pigments are present in each sample.

Structural formula

A pigment is a substance that is bound non-covalently to protein and is used in the process of photosynthesis. Pigments are different from dyes because they have a solid or semi-solid mass that does not dissolve in a liquid. The chemical structure of a pigment can be determined by liquid chromatography methods. This allows scientists to determine the structural formula of a pigment, which is important in understanding how it functions. There are two types of pigments: organic and inorganic. Organic pigments are manufactured by a series of processes including washing, drying, powdering and combining to form a formulation. Inorganic pigments are made from minerals and metals. They are mainly used for industrial and commercial applications, and are less expensive than organic pigments.

The pigment chlorophyll is found in the green parts of plants, which are called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are double membraned organelles that convert light energy into chemical energy. They are found in the center of a plant cell and are surrounded by a membrane called the stroma, which is filled with dense fluid. Chloroplasts contain grana, which are flattened membrane sacs that resemble stacks of pancakes that float in heavy maple syrup (the stroma). Each grana contains the pigment chlorophyll.

Chlorophyll is a yellow-green pigment that absorbs blue and red light, and transmits or reflects green light. It is the primary pigment that is used in photosynthesis. It consists of a magnesium atom that is surrounded by a nitrogen-containing structure called a porphyrin ring and a long carbon-hydrogen side chain. It is remarkably similar in structure to hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells in vertebrates.

During photosynthesis, chlorophyll combines with water to produce ATP. It is embedded in the photosystems PS II and PSI, which are large pigment-protein clusters that are located in thylakoids. These photosystems have structures that are perfectly adopted to ensure that almost every absorbed photon can drive photochemical reactions.

Chemical formula

The chemical formula for chlorophyll a is C6H12O6, and for chlorophyll b it is C6H12O5. Chlorophyll pigments are water-soluble molecules that occur in the cytoplasm of the plant cell. They absorb sunlight and are the main source of energy that drives photosynthesis. The pigments are named for the green color they impart to plants. They absorb wavelengths in the blue and red parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, and reflect the green portion. This is why plants appear green, and other eukaryotes that do not possess chloroplasts appear brown or black.

There are six different photosynthetic pigments, and the colors of these pigments reflect their function. Each absorbs different wavelengths of light more efficiently. Chlorophyll a is the most common of these, and it absorbs wavelengths from 400-500 nm, while chlorophyll b absorbs wavelengths from 450-675 nm. Each of these pigments has a unique absorption spectral pattern, with the wavelength on the x-axis and the degree of light absorption on the y-axis.

Each of these pigments can absorb energy in several different ways, but they all transfer it to electron carrier molecules that are arranged into a series of steps. Then the energy is released as chemically stored ATP and NADPH. This process is called cyclic photophosphorylation, and it is the driving force of photosynthesis.

In addition to chlorophyll, other types of pigments found in chloroplast include carotenoids and rhodopsin. Those that are bound to the protein complexes PSI and PSIII are called accessory pigments. They assist in absorbing and trapping solar energy by diverting excess energy that would be wasted as heat or fluorescence away from the main chlorophyll molecules. In addition, they can provide a shield against oxidation of these molecules.