Chlorophyll is a word that originates from the junction of the Greek terms “chlorós” (green) and “phýllon” (leaf), and serves to designate the pigments of vegetables, integrating the process of photosynthesis that give them their green color .
Chlorophyll is formed by a group of photosynthetic pigments, that is, the pigments are able to absorb light, transforming carbon dioxide, mineral salts and water into oxygen and carbohydrates. It is present in all plants and is responsible for the process of photosynthesis, which transforms the plant into food and releases oxygen into the atmosphere.
Its presentation in green color is due to the absorption of sunlight in the light spectrum, varying between blue and red and reflecting the shades that the leaves present. The term chlorophyll was created by F. Pelletier and JB Caveteau, French chemists who, in 1818, discovered that a green liquid could be extracted from the leaves of vegetables using alcohol.
The molecular structure of chlorophyll has similarities to hemoglobin in the blood of animals. While blood contains iron, however, vegetable sap has magnesium. Chlorophyll is held within chloroplasts, an organelle that is surrounded by protoplasm, a component of living cells.
We can find in nature four types of chlorophyll, which are designated by the letters a, b, c and d. The first two are present in plants that have shades of green, being responsible for photosynthesis, while the last two can be found in algae and cyanobacteria.
By absorbing the spectral light of the blue and red regions, chlorophyll is able to reflect the green of the leaves, masking the colors of other substances present in vegetables, such as carotenoids, red and yellow pigments also found in vegetables.
When the amount of chlorophyll decreases, the other colors tend to appear, a fact that is observed in autumn, when the trees change the colors of their leaves and they fall. With the change of leaves, passing the winter, the process starts again, with photosynthesis and green colors. Autumn is the time when chlorophyll breaks down in the plant, preparing it for winter.
All plant organisms that use photosynthesis have chlorophyll, although it also appears in photoautotrophic bacteria, that is, bacteria that obtain their nutrients using sunlight, but it is already considered bacterial chlorophyll.
Photosynthesis, responsible for the emergence of chlorophyll, only happens with the presence of light. This is observed when a plant is created in the dark, having different shades, depending on the pigments that predominate in it.
chlorophyll juice
Very fashionable nowadays, juice is a preparation of ingredients that act in the body, cleaning toxins and impurities. It is also called “juice of light”, due to the presence of leaves that have chlorophyll.
The main ingredients of chlorophyll juice are the leaves of vegetables, such as spinach, cabbage or chicory, plus fruits, such as apples and lemons, as well as vegetables, such as cucumbers, zucchini, beets and carrots, in addition to mint leaves, which give a more delicate flavor to the juice.
The recommendation is to take the juice once a day, on an empty stomach, to produce the necessary effects. It should also be consumed immediately after preparation to take advantage of its nutritional qualities.
