Study of chlorophylls and carotenoids in Sansevieria hyacinthoides leaves

Topicality. Sansevieria hyacinthoides (L.) Druce belongs to the Asparagaceae family. The plant is native to African countries. It has been introduced and naturalized in some countries of America, Asia, Australia and Europe. This species is grown as an ornamental plant in many countries, and as a medicinal plant in Africa.Aim. To determine the quantitative content of chlorophylls a and b and the amount of carotenoids in Sansevieria hyacinthoides leaves freshly collected and dried.Materials and methods. The quantitative content was determined by the spectrophotometric method. This method allows determining the amount of chlorophyll a and b and carotenoids by the characteristics of the absorption spectra without their prior separation.Results and discussion. The amount of chlorophyll a and b in the dried leaves was almost 7 times higher than in the freshly collected ones (1.82 ± 0.036 mg/g vs. 0.25 ± 0.005 mg/g, and 2.08 ± 0.038 mg/g vs. 0.29 ± 0.006 mg/g, respectively). The quantitative content of the amount of carotenoids differed by 3.6 times (0.05 ± 0.001 mg/g in freshly collected leaves, and 0.18 ± 0.004 mg/g in the dried raw material).Conclusions. The quantitative content of the amount of carotenoids, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b in freshly collected and dried leaves of Sansevieria hyacinthoides has been determined by the spectrophotometric method. The dried plant raw material of Sansevieria leaves has a higher content of biologically active substances: chlorophyll a – 1.82 ± 0.036 mg/g, chlorophyll b – 2.08 ± 0.038 mg/g, and the amount of carotenoids – 0.18 ± 0.004 mg/g.