Importance of Chlorophyll and Other Pigments

One of the examples of endergonic reactions include endothermic reactions, such as photosynthesis.
Through this process, plants are experts at capturing light energy and using it to make sugars. This process
begins with the absorption of light by specialized organic molecules, called pigments, that are found in the
chloroplasts of plant cells.
Here, we’ll consider light as a form of energy, and we'll also see how pigments such as the chlorophylls
that make plants green absorb that energy and the two groups of pigments that are important in plants:
chlorophylls and carotenoids.
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.
Every electromagnetic wave has a particular wavelength, or distance from one crest to the next, and
different types of radiation have different characteristic ranges of wavelengths (as shown in the diagram below).
Types of radiation with long wavelengths, such as radio waves, carry less energy than types of radiation with
short wavelengths, such as X-rays.

Image modified from "Electromagnetic spectrum," by Inductiveload (CC BYSA 3.0), and "EM spectrum,"
by Philip Ronan (CC BY-SA 3.0). The modified image is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.

CHLOROPHYLLS

Plants and microorganisms that contain chlorophyll may be described as photosynthetic organisms.
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. In the diagram below, you
can see the absorption spectra of three key pigments in photosynthesis: chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and β-
carotene. The set of wavelengths that a pigment doesn't absorb are reflected, and the reflected light is what we
see as color. For instance, plants appear green to us because they contain many chlorophylls a and b molecules,
which reflect green light.
 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.
The different forms of chlorophyll include Chlorophyll a, Chlorophyll b, Chlorophyll c, Chlorophyll d,
Chlorophyll e and Chlorophyll f plus a related molecule found in prokaryotes called bacteriochlorophyll.
In plants, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are the main photosynthetic pigments. Chlorophyll molecules
absorb blue and red wavelengths, as shown by the peaks in the absorption spectra above.

• 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
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.
In photosynthesis, 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
Flavonoids are a 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.
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.
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), and its E number is E140.
8. It improves milk function in lactating mothers.
9. It acts like a physiological stimulant of red blood cells in the bone marrow.
10.Cleans and detox the body of carbon dioxide, toxins and stress.
 THE PHOTOSYNTHETIC PROCESS

Photosynthesis came from two word ‘photo’ which means light and ‘synthesis’ which means putting
together. It is the process by which living cells use light energy to make organic compounds. It is considered the
link between the sun’s energy needs of life on Earth. The chemical reaction for photosynthesis is: