Plant Pigments 2024

PLANT PIGMENTS
STRUCTURE AND THEIR ROLE
DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

Introduction: What Are Pigments ?
 Pigments are “molecules that absorb

specific wavelength (energies) of light
and reflect all others.”
 Pigments are coloured compounds.
 The colour we see is the net effect of all
the light reflecting back at us…!
 They are the substances produced by
living organisms that have a colour
resulting from selective colour absorption.

PRIMARY FUNCTION OF PIGMENTS IN
PLANTS
 Primary Function : Photosynthesis

 Uses green pigment chlorophyll along with
several red and yellow pigments.
 Help to capture as much light as possible.
 Other functions include attracting insects to
flowers for encouraging pollination.

Pigments in Plants-:
The Principal pigments in plants are-:
1. Chlorophyll
2. Carotenoids
3. Xanthophylls
4. Anthocyanins
5. Betalins
6. Phycobilins

CHLOROPHYLL
 Primary pigment in plant.
 Chlorin absorbs yellow and blue wavelengths.
 Reflecting green.
 All land plants and green algae have two types
of chlorophyll: Chlorophyll a and Chlorophyll b.
 Kelps (protists) and photosynthetic heterokonts
contain Chlorophyll c.
 Chlorophyll serve as fuel to photosynthesis.

CHLOROPHYLL
 Name derived from greek words

 Chloros means “green” and phyllon means
“leaf”.
 Synthesized from succinyl-CoA and Glycine.
 Immediate precursor to Chlorophyll A and B is
protochlorophyllide.
 Contains hydrophobic phytol chain embedded in
lipid membrane.
 Rest structure is tetrapyrrolic ring.
 It is the part of pigment that absorbs the energy
from light.
Structure of Chlorophyll

STRUCTURE OF Chlorophyll a & Chlorophyll b

AccessoryPigments
 Role of AccessoryPigments:
 Accessorypigmentshelp plantsabsorb
additional light. Plants need to make
these accessory pigments to maximize
theamountofphotosynthesisthey can
do.
 Morepigments= Moreglucoseorfood
for theplant!
Types of Accessory
Pigments
 Carotenoids:reflect yellow, orange,andredlight.
 Anthocyans:reflect red,blue,violetlight.
 Xanthophylls: reflect yellowlight.
 Phycobilins:reflect red and yellowlight

CAROTENOIDS
Carotenoids are organic pigments that are found in
chloroplasts and chromoplasts of plants and other
photosynthetic oranisms.
 Function as accessory pigments in plants.
 Absorb wavelength not readily absorbed by chlorophyll.
 Eg: Carotene (Found in Carrots)
 Lutein (Yellow pigment found in fruits and vegetables).
 Lycopene (Red pigment in tomatoes)
 Attract pollinators and seed dispersers
 Accessory photosynthetic Pigment in periods of low light
 Anti-oxidant roles
 Substrates for hormones

Structure of Carotenoids
Lycopene

ANTHOCYANINS
 Literally “Flower blue”
 Belong to Water soluble flavanoid pigments
 Have purple colour and are present in vegetables (onions,
cabbage, potatoes), red, blue & purple berries, black
beans
 Attract pollinators and seed dispersers, repel predators,
protect cells from damage by excess light,
 Improve plant tolerance to stress such as drought, U V-B
 Improve night vision and other vision disorders, protect
against heart disease.
 Examples: Cyanidin, Aurantinidin, Malvidin

Structure of Anthocyanin

XANTHOPHYLL
 Typical yellow pigments of leaves.
 Essentially oxidized carotenes synthesized within plastids.
 Xanthophylls do not require light for synthesis, so that
xanthophylls are present in all young leaves as well as in
etiolated leaves.
 Xanthophylls in leaves have an important function
as accessory pigments, capturing certain wavelengths of
sunlight not absorbed by chlorophylls, and thereby increasing
overall absorptance of the visible spectrum of sunlight.
 Group of xanthophylls includes lutein, zeaxanthin,
neoxanthin.
 Examples of other rich sources include papaya, peaches,
prunes, and squash, which contain lutein diesters.

STRUCTURE OF XANTHOPHYLL
XANTHOPHYLL

PHYCOBILINS
 Phycobilins are water-soluble pigments found in the stroma of
chloroplast organelles that are present only in Cyanobacteria and
Rhodophyta.
 The two classes of phycobilins include phycocyanin and
phycoerythrin.
 Phycocyanin is a bluish pigment found in primarily cyanobacteria
(blue-green algae) to aid in absorption of light in
photosynthesis.
 Phycoerythrin is a pigment found in Rhodopyta (red algae) that is
responsible for its characteristic red color. It is an accessory
pigment that allows red algae to carry out photosynthesis in
deep water where wavelengths of blue light are most abundant
by absorbing blue light and reflecting red light.

STRUCTURE OF PHYCOBILINS
Phycoerythrin

Conclusion
 Plant pigments assist in absorption of light during
photosynthesis.
 They tap sources of light energy which would otherwise be
unused by plant, if it relied only on chlorophyll.
 They give a unique color to plants.
 Attract pollinators, seed dispersals and repel predators.
 Improve plant tolerance against drought, UV light etc.
 Acts as an antioxidant.
 Add up to plant biomass.

Plant Pigments 2024

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PLANT PIGMENTS

STRUCTURE AND THEIR ROLE

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

 Pigments are “molecules that absorb

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

 Primary Function : Photosynthesis

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

 Name derived from greek words

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

DR. SHARADA POTUKUCHI, SCHOOL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, SMVDU, KATRA, J&K

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