You are here: Home
/ Publication Information
Title: Development of a standardized methodology for quantifying total chlorophyll and carotenoids from foliage of hardwood and conifer tree species
Author: Minocha, Rakesh; Martinez, Gabriela; Lyons, Benjamin; Long, Stephanie;
Source: Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39:849-861
Publication Series: Scientific Journal (JRNL)
Description: Despite the availability of several protocols for the extraction of chlorophylls and carotenoids from foliage of forest trees, information regarding their respective extraction efficiencies is scarce. We compared the efficiencies of acetone, ethanol, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) over a range of incubation times for the extraction of chlorophylls and carotenoids using small amounts of unmacerated tissue. Of the 11 species studied, comparable amounts of chlorophyll were extracted by all four solvents from three species and by ethanol and DMF from nine species. In [our species. acetone. ethanol. and DMF extracted comparable chlorophyll amounts, while in another two species comparable amounts were extracted by ethanol, DMSO, and DMF. In one species, ethanol extracted significantly greater amounts of chlorophyll compared with all other solvents, The brown coloration of DMSO extracts for some species compromised the calculations of chlorophylls and carotenoids, making DMSO a poor choice. Overall, extraction efficiencies of ethanol and DMF were comparable for analyzing chlorophyll concentrations. However, because DMF is more toxic than ethanol, we recommend ethanol as the better option of these two for chlorophyll extractions. On the other hand, DMF is the most efficient solvent among the four tested for the extraction of carotenoids from these species. The results presented will facilitate the design of multispecies local- and regional-scale ecological studies to evaluate forest health. Additionally, they will enable reliable comparisons of results from multiple laboratories and (or) studies that used different solvents and help validate chlorophyll estimates obtained by remote sensing.
- We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information.
- This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain.
- This publication may be available in hard copy. Check the Northern Research Station web site to request a printed copy of this publication.
- Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact Sharon Hobrla, firstname.lastname@example.org if you notice any errors which make this publication unusable.
XML: View XML
Mohapatra, S.; Cherry, S.; Minocha, R. [and others]. 2010. The response of high and low polyamine producing cell lines to aluminum and calcium stress. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 48: 612-620.
Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility