CHARACTERIZATION OF CHLOROPHYLL PIGMENTS PRESENT IN CANOLA SEED, MEAL AND OIL

Chlorophyll pigments present in canola seed, meal and crude and degummed oils were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector. Chlorophylls a and b, low levels of pheophytin a, and occasionally traces of pheophorbide and its methyl ester were present in canola seed. Meals and oils contained magnesium-deficient chlorophyll pigments such as pheophorbide a, methylpheophorbide a, pheophytins a and b, and pyropheophytins a and b but not chlorophyll a or b. The amounts of chlorophyll pigments were oil > seed much greater than meal. Both crude and degummed oils contained pheophytin a and pyropheophytin a as main components, but the ratio of pyropheophytin a to pheophytin a was markedly higher in degummed oils. No pheophorbides were detected in degummed oils. These results suggest that oil processing steps such as extraction and degumming affect the composition of chlorophyll pigments.