The Relation Between Pigmentation & Chloroplasts

In this experiment, we concentrate on the absorbance rate of chloroplasts that have been extracted from two different leaves; spinach(Spinacia oleracea) and kale(Brassica oleracea var. sabellica). Usually during photosynthesis, NADP+ is reduced to NADPH however, in this experiment we use an artificial electron acceptor, Dichlorophenolindophenol(DCPIP). Using the DCPIP, allows us to fully monitor the photosynthetic rates of each of the isolated chloroplasts. Both spinach and kale have very distinctly different coloration; kale which has a much darker pigmentation and spinach which takes on a lighter green. Kale will result in a lower absorbance rate in comparison to the spinach chloroplasts because of this difference in coloration. Kale has a much darker pigment than spinach, which leads us to believe that this difference in color is associated with the amount of chloroplasts found in kale resulting in a higher rate of photosynthesis. A higher concentration of chloroplasts found results in a darker pigment, lower absorption, more electrons being transferred in the ETC and a higher rate of photosynthesis.