Plant Pigment Identification: A Classroom and Outreach Activity

Anthocyanins are a class of pigments responsible for the bright colors of many flowers, fruits, and vegetables typically resulting in shades of red, blue, and purple. Students were asked to perform an activity to enable them to identify which anthocyanin was present in one of several possible plant materials through a hands-on activity. Students extracted the pigments from the biological sources and obtained color profiles by altering the pH of the biological extracts. These extracts were compared to standards of anthocyanin pigments so that students could deduce which pigment was present in the plant material that they had selected. This activity interrelates several chemical concepts and provides a link between chemical and biological sciences.