Comparative chromatography of the chloroplast pigments

Modifications of solution chromatography illustrated with chloroplast pigments

“…Reaction of violaxanthin dissolved in diethyl ether with concentrated HC1 produces a deep blue color in the acid layer; the other leaf carotenoids remain yellow (3, 7). Separated in paper or thin layers of magnesia and exposed to the vapors of concentrated HC1, violaxanthin turns blue and neoxanthin blue-green (8,9). Separated in siliceous adsorbents, the zones of all the carotenoids turn blue or blue-green, but the color of the lutein and carotene zones returns to yellow with time (JO).…”

“…The order of the lutein and violaxanthin is reversed when the column is developed with ethylene dichloride, freshly extracted with water and dried over Drierite. Zeaxanthin, which has the same formula and functional groups as lutein but has one more conjugated double bond, is separated from lutein and the other xanthophylls as a very strongly sorbed zone on magnesia (3,11 cause zeaxanthin is a minor pigment of leaves (9) and because the columns are lightly loaded, the zone due to this pigment is not readily visible.…”

Chromatography

“…A detailed study on comparative chromatography of the chloroplast pigments is recommended reading to choose between numerous techniques such as column with various adsorbents, paper, and thin-layer (422). Thin-layer chromatography is the preferred technique for chloroplast pigments (382), chlorophyll and carotenoids from marine algae (210) and seawater (126).…”