Pigment Chromatography

01Pigment Chromatography

Photosynthetic pigments

This section covers the photosynthetic pigments present in leaf extracts that can be separated by chromatography.

Pigments in a leaf extract

A leaf does not contain just one photosynthetic pigment. Pigments within its thylakoids can be extracted together and then separated experimentally.

The mixture considered in this practical can contain:

  • chlorophyll a
  • chlorophyll b
  • the carotenoids β-carotene and xanthophyll

After chromatography, their different colours and positions help distinguish the individual pigments within the original mixture.

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