Color

Reflections!
 MELC:
Explain the importance of chlorophyll and other pigments (K to 12 BEC CG:
STEM_BIO11/12-IIa-j-3)
The following are the specific objectives:
1. Explain how pigments such as the chlorophylls that make plants green absorb the light
energy;
2. Identify the forms of chlorophyll, other pigments and explain their importance;
3. Understand the uses and benefits of chlorophyll in industrial or commercial purposes.
oendergonic reactions
oendothermic reactions
oas photosynthesis
ocapturing light energy
omake sugars
oabsorption of light
oorganic molecules
oPigments
ochloroplasts
Why plants are green?
Plants are green because
chlorophyll reflects green light.
Many people think that chlorophyll is green because it
wants to absorb and use green light. However, this is not
true. The color we see is actually the color of light that is
being reflected. Therefore, chlorophyll reflects green
light, while absorbing red and blue light. As a result, the
brain interprets the color as green given that this is the
color that is reflected by chlorophyll.
Light Energy
Light is a form of electromagnetic radiation, a type
of energy that travels in waves. Other kinds of
electromagnetic radiation that we encounter in our
daily lives include radio waves, microwaves, and X-
rays. Together, all the types of electromagnetic
radiation make up the electromagnetic spectrum.
Wavelength
-Distance from one crest to the next, and different types of radiation have
different characteristic ranges of wavelengths (as shown in the diagram
below).
Visible spectrum
- The only part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be seen
by the human eye.
Visible spectrum
- It includes electromagnetic radiation whose wavelength is between about
400 nm and 700 nm.
Visible spectrum
- Visible light from the sun appears white, but it’s actually made up of
multiple wavelengths (colors) of light.
- Although light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation act as waves
under many conditions, they can behave as particles under others. Each
particle of electromagnetic radiation, called a photon, has certain amount of
energy. Types of radiation with short wavelengths have high-energy photons,
whereas types of radiation with long wavelengths have low-energy photons
Pigments absorb light used in
photosynthesis
-Photosynthetic organisms contain light-absorbing molecules called pigments
that absorb only specific wavelengths of visible light, while reflecting others.
-The set of wavelengths absorbed by a pigment is its absorption spectrum.
Three key pigments in
photosynthesis
- chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and β-carotene
Chlorophylls
➢The term chlorophyll was coined in 1818 by French Pharmacists;
Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaime Caventou.
➢The word chlorophyll comes from two Greek words; Chloros which
means green and phyllon which means leaf.
Different forms of Chlorophyll
oChlorophyll a
oChlorophyll b
oChlorophyll c
oChlorophyll d
oChlorophyll e
oChlorophyll f
oBacteriochlorophyll (related molecule found in prokaryotes)
chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b
- the main photosynthetic pigments. Chlorophyll
molecules absorb blue and red wavelengths, as
shown by the peaks in the absorption spectra
above.
Chlorophyll a
This is the most abundant pigment in plants. Chlorophyll a absorbs light with
wavelengths of 430nm(blue) and 662nm(red). It reflects green light strongly
so it appears green to us.
 Chlorophyll b
▪This molecule has a structure similar to that of chlorophyll a.
▪ It absorbs light of 453nm and 642 nm maximally.
▪ It is not as abundant as chlorophyll a, and probably evolved later.
▪ It helps increase the range of light a plant can use for energy.
▪Although both chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b absorb light, chlorophyll a play a unique and crucial
role in converting light energy to chemical energy.
▪All photosynthetic plants, algae, and cyanobacteria contain chlorophyll a, whereas only plants and
green algae contain chlorophyll b, along with a few types of cyanobacteria.
Because of the central role of chlorophyll a in photosynthesis, all
pigments used in addition to chlorophyll a are known as accessory
pigments—including other chlorophylls, as well as other classes of
pigments like the carotenoids. The use of accessory pigments
allows a broader range of wavelengths to be absorbed, and thus,
more energy to be captured from sunlight.
Chlorophyll c is a form of chlorophyll found in certain
marine algae, including the photosynthetic Chromista (e.g.
diatoms and brown algae) and dinoflagellates. It has a
blue-green color and is an accessory pigment, particularly
significant in its absorption of light in the 447–52 nm
wavelength region.
Chlorophyll d was discovered in small quantities in red
algae in 1943, was often regarded as an artefact of
isolation. Now, as a result of discoveries over the past
year, it has become clear that Chl d is the major
chlorophyll of a free-living and widely distributed
cyanobacterium that lives in light environments depleted
in visible light and enhanced in infrared radiation.
Chlorophyll e is found only in algae.
Chlorophyll f is a type form of chlorophyll that absorbs
further in the red (infrared light) than other chlorophylls.
It’s in photosynthetic reactions is uncertain and the
ecological distribution of chlorophyll f remains unknown. It
has been shown to support some of the roles in
photosynthetic reactions, in both the energy transfer and
in the charge separation processes.
Carotenoids

-are another key group of pigments that absorb violet and blue-
green light (see spectrum graph above). The brightly colored
carotenoids found in fruit—such as the red of tomato (lycopene),
the yellow of corn seeds (zeaxanthin), or the orange of an orange
peel (β-carotene), yellow pigment found in fruits and vegetables
(lutein) are often used as advertisements to attract animals, which
can help disperse the plant's seeds.
Carotenoids

-Inphotosynthesis, carotenoids help capture light, but they also

have an important role in getting rid of excess light energy. When a
leaf is exposed to full sun, it receives a huge amount of energy; if
that energy is not handled properly, it can damage the
photosynthetic machinery. Carotenoids in chloroplasts help absorb
the excess energy and dissipate it as heat.
Anthocyanins
Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid
pigments found naturally in all the tissues
of the higher group of plants. This pigment
functions by providing color to the stem,
leaves, roots, fruits, and flowers. Based on
their pH, this type of pigments appears red,
blue, purple and other dark colors.
Flavonoids
- area type of yellow colored pigments, which are abundantly found
in lemons, grapefruit, oranges and in some ark and yellow colored
flowers. This type of pigments is largely found in the plastids and
cytoplasm of the plant cell. Flavonoids are the chemicals with the
antioxidant properties and help in lowering the cholesterol levels.
Other applications of flavonoids
are:
1. They are extracted and utilized as dyes.
2. These pigments such as lycopene and astaxanthin are used as
a dietary supplement in most of the food products.
Uses and benefits of Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll is perhaps the most important naturally occurring
pigment on the planet. Found in plants and some microorganisms
(e.g. cyanobacteria), these porphyrins play an important role in the
conversion of solar energy to chemical energy through a process
known as photosynthesis.
Uses and benefits of Chlorophyll
1. The different forms are essential for life given that they are responsible for the autotrophic
nature of plants and some microorganisms.
2. They are also used for a number of commercial purposes in agriculture and the food
industry.
3. People use chlorophyll as medicine. Common sources of chlorophyll used for medicine
include alfalfa, algae, and silkworm droppings.
4. It is used for bad breath and reducing colostomy odor. Chlorophyll is also used for
constipation, "detoxification," and wound healing.
5. Healthcare providers use chlorophyll intravenously for removing skin cancer and for
treating a pancreas problem called chronic relapsing pancreatitis.
Uses and benefits of Chlorophyll
6. It is applied to the skin for acne and for removing skin cancer and
lesions from herpes infections.
7. It is registered as a food additive (colorant).
8. It improves milk function in lactating mothers.
9. It acts like a physiological stimulant of red blood cells in the bone
marrow.
[Link] and detox the body of carbon dioxide, toxins and stress.