Abstract

SEPARATION OF ALGAL PIGMENTS BY THIN LAYER CHROMATOGRAPHY (TLC) AND HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY (HPLC)

Dr. S. Sathya*

Abstract

The pigment content in microalgae is one of the important features of each species. Four green algae such as G11, G12, G13 and G14 were isolated from different freshwater habitat in Madurai. The isolated microalgae G11, G12, G13 and G14 were closely related to Chloromonas pichinchae (G11), Grasiella vacuolata (G12), Watanabea reniformis (G13) and Scenedesmus deserticola (G14). Thin layer chromatography revealed the presence of xanthophylls, chlorophyll and β-carotene in the isolated green algal strains. In this study, using an optimized method of HPLC, trace pigments were also identified. Chlorophyll a, chlorophyll c2, chlorophyll c3 and β-carotene were identified as the major pigments present in all the four green algae. The retention time decreased in the following order (Phaeophytin a > Phaeophytin b > chlorophyll b > chlorophyll a > chlorophyllide a) and predominantly was dependent on the polarity of the mobile phase. Algal products have widening scope for industries in the form of dyes and bio-plastics which can increase profitability and reduce the biomass waste.

Keywords: Green algae, Pigments, TLC, HPLC.