Chromatograph

=Chromatograph=

source: http://www.hsu.edu/content.aspx?id=7261

This photograph shows the four main pigments separated from green plants using paper chromatography. The primary pigments in green plants are chlorophylls, represented by chlorophyll a and b, which appear green. Visible light, or white light, is made up of the colors of the rainbow. Some of these colors are absorbed ("used") by pigments and others are reflected. Pigments appear the color of the reflected light, so the chlorophyll pigments do not use the green portion of the spectrum. The other two pigments are types of carotenoids, which appear yellow, orange, or brown. The top band of pigments in the separation are carotenoids called carotenes, most likely beta-carotene, and appear yellowish-orange. The second type of carotenoid separated in the experiment are xanthophylls, which appear bright yellowish and are most likely lutein. The "loading line" is the location of the original pigment line painted on the paper.