Spectrophotometric determinations of chloroplastidic pigments in acetone, ethanol and dimethylsulphoxide

Abstract

(Spectrophotometric determinations of chloroplastidic pigments in acetone, ethanol and dimethylsulphoxide). The concentration of pigment indicates a range of properties in the physiological processes of plants. A large number of procedures have been developed to measure leaf pigment content. Some of these procedures involve leaf maceration and centrifugation, while others require incubation of a leaf sample in solvent for a few minutes or hours, which makes the process laborious. The choice of the best procedure may vary according to the plant species and type of solvent used. This study compared the efficiency of three commonly used solvents (dimethylsulphoxide, ethanol and acetone) in the extraction of chlorophylls and carotenoids of five plant species and one lichen species. The results indicated that dimethylsulphoxide was more efficient at chlorophyll extraction in all of the studied species. The ethanol and acetone extracts quickly lost molecular stability. Acetone extract may also cause phaeophytinisation and reduce the chlorophyll content.