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Updated: Jun 30, 2025

Author Spotlight: Non-Invasive High-Resolution Measurement of Chlorophyll Synthesis During De-Etiolation
Published on: January 12, 2024
On the Pelletier and Caventou (1817, 1818) papers on chlorophyll and beyond
Govindjee Govindjee1, Alexandrina Stirbet2, Jonathan S Lindsey3
1Department of Plant Biology, Department of Biochemistry and Center of Biophysics and Quantitative Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA. gov@illinois.edu.
Abstract:
The first use of the word 'chlorophyll' (chlorophile or chlorophyle in the French original) appeared in two papers by Pierre-Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou, pharmacists in Paris who isolated and studied the green pigment from plants. Here, we provide English translations of their 1818 note and the slightly longer 1817 paper. Historical context is provided including a timeline of key discoveries in chlorophyll chemistry pertaining to photosynthesis.
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