Evaluation of Some Local Egyptian Plants as a Source of Chlorophyll Pigments

Abstract

Four plant materials viz. Spinacia oleracae Linn, (spinach), Beta vulgaris Limm (chard), Medicago sativa Linn, (alfalfa) and Petroselinum sativum Hoff. (parsely) were studied as local sources for the preparation of chlorophyll pigments as natural green colour additives. Processing of the plant materials were carried out under different conditions viz. blanching, non-blanching followed by drying in air or electrical oven or in solar dehydrating oven. The qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the different plant materials revealed the following: spinach contains the highest chlorophyll content followed by alfalfa then parsely and finally chard. The use of electrical oven and solar dehydrating oven were shown to be more efficient for drying of plant materials. The study includes preparation of chlorophylls a and b and their derivatives in highly purified form to be used as standards for the evaluation of both of the plant materials and the different methods applied.