A NewReversed Phase-HPLC MethodResolving AllMajor Higher Plant Photosynthetic Pigments1

A new reversed phase-high performance liquid chromatographymethodhasbeendeveloped toanalyze thefull complement ofhigher plant photosynthetic pigments (cis-neoxanthin, neoxanthin, violaxanthin, taraxanthin, anteraxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, cis-lutein, chlorophyll b,chlorophyll a,a- and,B-carotene). The separation iscarried outon a Ci8columninabout10minutes, using a single high-pressure pump andthreedifferent mobile phasesinthree isocratic steps. Thismethodintroduces a major improvement inhigher plant photosynthetic pigment analysis, resolving inonly10minutes allphotosynthetic pigments while achieving goodseparation oflutein fromitsisomer zeaxanthin. Zeaxanthin isinvolved inthexanthophyll cycle, whichrecently hasbeenproposed toplay a significant role intheprotection of thephotosynthetic apparatus fromphotoinhibitory conditions (Demmig etal.[1987] Plant Physiol 84:218-224).