DETERMINATION OF CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT IN THREE PLANT SPECIES BY MEANS OF UV-VISIBLE SPECTROSCOPY
RAFAELA BALDISSERA
Centro de Ciências Exatas da Natureza e de Tecnologia (CENT), Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
MATHEUS POLETTO *
Centro de Ciências Exatas da Natureza e de Tecnologia (CENT), Universidade de Caxias do Sul (UCS), Bento Gonçalves, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Chlorophyll is an essential compound in plants and is present in many everyday food products. So, the aim of this work was determined the chlorophyll content in fresh leaves of three plant species commonly used in tea drinks. Fresh leaves of Ilex paraguariensis, Peumus boldus and Baccharis trimera were evaluated. The content of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll band chlorophyll total were determined using UV-visible spectroscopy. The results showed that higher quantities of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll total were verified in fresh leaves of Ilex paraguariensis followed by Baccharis trimera and Peumus boldus. The ratio between chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b is approximately 3 for all fresh leaves studied. The methods used to dry the plant leaves can reduce the chlorophyll content.
Keywords: Chlorophylls content, Ilex paraguariensis, Peumus boldus, Baccharis trimera, fresh leaves