Isolation of pigment-free bulk lipids from thylakoids

Lipids from spinach thylakoids were extracted with chloroform/methanol and separated from pigments in a single chromatographic step run at 5 degrees C using silicic acid adjusted to pH 8. The isolated lipid fraction contained essentially the same amounts of individual lipids as in the initial extract. It contained less than 0.1% of the initial chlorophylls and carotenoids.