Abstract:
Green chlorophyll pigments (chlorophyll a and b) and yellow
pigments or carotenoids (carotenes and xanthophylls) represents
photosynthetic or assimilative pigments .
All organs or tissues of a plant , if green , that is to say if they have
chlorophyll, make photosynthesis, but adapted and at the same time
specialized to fulfill this function are the leaves.
If green leaves are warmed in ethyl alcohol, methanol, ether, acetone,
or chloroform, a green chlorophyll extract is obtained. A later separation
through chemical procedures allows the isolation from the extract of
chlorophyll of two yellowish pigments: carotene and xanthophyll . The first
two pigments are known under the name of chlorophyll , while carotene and
xanthophyll under the name of carotenoids