how can we extract chlorophyll from green leaves?

Question

how can we extract chlorophyll from green leaves?

Answer 1

Why questions are often difficult to answer but you seem to have a very

reasonable answer to explain your observation. To really confirm that the

nongreen parts of your variegated leaves do not photosynthesize as much as the

green parts, you would need to do one of the following:



1. Starch test the leaves to show that there is little or no starch in nongreen

areas and lots of starch in green areas. This may not work on all leaves

because some plants do not accumulate starch in their leaves but export

photosynthates as sucrose.



2. Extract chlorophyll from green and nongreen areas to show the nongreen areas

have little or no chlorophyll while green areas have lots of chlorophyll. Just

because a leaf is nongreen does not mean that there is not chlorophyll there.

In some nongreen leaves, other pigments such as carotenoids and anthocyanins,

simply mask the green chlorophyll.



3. Measure photosynthesis in leaf disks cut from green and nongreen areas of

the leaf to show that photosynthesis occurs in green but not nongreen parts.

Answer 2

for safety's sake just boil the leaves in water, you can use alcohol or acetone,even turpentine.HOWEVER all these chemicals are too dangerous to use in a home environment or for anybody not well equiped or trained to do so. just use boiling water. boil the leaves for 30-45 min then leave the water come to a rest. the chlorophyll will sink to the bottom after a while skim the water off or drain it off, or any filteration method you find sufficient....

but most importantly...dont go blowing yourself up fiddling with plants.

Answer 3

If you want intact leaves, you can still extract the leaves in acetone. Use large enough glass dish to submerge the leaf. It is advisable to do the extraction out of doors to prevent the build up of fumes that could be ignited. I would advise you perform the extraction in a chemistry lab with a fume hood available with chemist or biologist supervising. The safety glasses are a must.

Answer 4

One way would be to boil water, put in the leaves, boil alcohol, and put the leaves in while boiling. It will drain the chlorophyll.

Answer 5

The site linked to below says use acetone.

Answer 6

One way is to use alcohol; but do it safely! See the source.