Importance of Chlorophyll

GENERAL BIOLOGY 1
THE IMPORTANCE OF CHLOROPHYLL AND OTHER

PIGMENTS
CHROMATOGRAPHY
is a separation technique used to identify

various components of mixtures based on the
differences in their structure and/or composition
PIGMENT
are substances that

absorb visible light.
WHAT ARE THE ROLE OF
PIGMENTS IN PHOTOSYNTHESIS
• Pigments are light-absorbing colored molecules.

• They absorb energy from violet-blue light and
reflect green light, giving plants their green
color.
Light, as it encounters an object, is either reflected, transmitted, or absorbed.
Visible light with a wavelength of 380-750nm, is the segment in the entire range of
electromagnetic spectrum that is most important to life on earth. It is detected as
various colors by the human eye. The color that is not absorbed by pigments of
objects is transmitted or reflected and that is the color of the object that we see.
CHLOROPHYLL
is a green pigment found in plants.

Food sources include green leafy
vegetables, wheatgrass, green tea,
potatoes, and some algae and herbs.
Chlorophyll absorbs blue and red
light while it reflects green light.
It plays the most important role in photosynthesis. It
directly participates in converting solar energy to chemical
energy.
ROLE OF
ACCESSORY
PIGMENTS
• Accessory pigments help plant
absorb additional light. Plants
need these accessory pigments to
maximize the amount of
photosynthesis they can do.
Types of Accessory • CAROTENOIDS:
reflect yellow, orange,
Pigments and red light.
• ANTHOCYANS:
reflect red, blue, violet
light
• XANTHOPHYLLS:
reflect yellow, light.
ACCESSORY
PIGMENTS
Accessory pigments are the reason leaves

change colors in autumn. In green leaves, there is
much chlorophyll that it masks the other pigments.
STRUCTURE OF
CHLOROPHYLL
HEAD
a flat hydrophilic head called

PORPHYRIN RING
TAIL
a lipid-soluble
HYDROCARBON TAIL
HOW DOES PHOTOEXCITATION OF CHLOROPHYLL HAPPEN?
1. A chlorophyll molecule absorbs photon or light energy.
2. An electron of the molecule in its normal orbital, said to be in its ground state, will
be elevated to an orbital of a higher energy. The molecule is now in an excited state.
The molecule only absorbs photon that has the energy that is equal to the energy
needed for it to be able to elevate from the ground state to the excited state.
3. The excited state is unstable. Hence, excited electrons drop back down to the
ground state immediately after, releasing energy in the form of heat and photon. This
happens in isolated chlorophyll molecules. However, chlorophyll molecule that is
found
in its natural environment in the thylakoid membrane forms a photosystem together
with proteins and other organic molecules to prevent the loss of energy from the
electrons.
PHOTOSYSTEM
A photosystem is an aggregate of pigments

and proteins in the thylakoid membrane responsible
for the absorption of photons and the transfer of
energy and electrons.
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COMPOSITION OF PHOTOSYSTEM
• Light-harvesting complex— is also called the ‘antenna’ complex and is

consisted of several different pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and
carotenoids) bounded with proteins. When a pigment molecule absorbs a
photon, energy is passed on from one pigment molecule to another pigment
molecule until the energy reaches the reaction center.
• Reaction-center complex—is composed of a pair of chlorophyll a and a
primary electron acceptor. The primary electron acceptor is a specialized
molecule that is able to accept electrons from the pair of chlorophyll a. The pair
of chlorophyll a in the reaction-center is also specialized because they are
capable of transferring an 19 electron to the primary electron acceptor and not
just boosting the electron to a higher energy level.

TYPES OF PHOTOSYSTEM
• Photosystem II—was discovered later after the discovery

of Photosystem I, but functions first in the light reaction of
photosynthesis. The chlorophyll a in the reaction center of
Photosystem II effectively absorbs light with a wavelength of
680nm and thus called P680.
• Photosystem I—was discovered first. Its reaction-center
has a chlorophyll a called P700 because it is effective in
absorbing light with a wavelength of 700nm.

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GENERAL BIOLOGY 1

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHLOROPHYLL AND OTHER

is a separation technique used to identify

are substances that

• Pigments are light-absorbing colored molecules.

is a green pigment found in plants.

Accessory pigments are the reason leaves

a flat hydrophilic head called

A photosystem is an aggregate of pigments

20XX presentation title 14

• Light-harvesting complex— is also called the ‘antenna’ complex and is

20XX presentation title 15

• Photosystem II—was discovered later after the discovery

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