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Pigment

A pigment, in biology, is a material that colours a plant or animal cell through the selective absorption of light. A few biological colouring agents have an iridescent quality, which is called structural colour and is the result of a multilayer structure. Pigments, however, do not iridesce; they are the same when viewed from any angle. Almost every type of cell in every organism has pigmentation. Organisms with little or no pigment, whether this is normal or an anomaly, are called albinos.

Some commonly found pigments in plants, animals, and other organisms include:

Heme/Porphyrin based
- Chlorophyll
- Bilirubin
- Hemocyanin
- Hemoglobin
- Myoglobin

Light emitting
- Luciferin

Lipochromes

Carotenoids
- Alpha and Beta Carotene
- Cyanins
- Anthocyanin
- Lycopene
- Rhodopsin

Xanthophylls
- Canthaxanthin
- Zeaxanthin
- Lutein

Photosynthetic
- Chlorophyll
- Phycobilin

Other
- Hematochrome
- Melanin
- Phthalocyanine blue
- Urochrome
- polyene enolates (red pigments unique to parrots)

In plants, most pigments are the critical component of photosynthesis. Pigments also function in many other ways. For instance, in humans melanin pigment protects the skin from ultraviolet light. Other uses for pigment include natural camouflage, sexual attractors, and lures for other organisms (the color in flowers, for instance).

Web Resources On Pigment

Photosynthetic Pigments
Plant Pigments for Color and Nutrition

Book Resources On Pigment

Photosynthetic Pigments of Algae by Kingsley S. Rowan
Measurement of Photosynthetic Pigments in Freshwaters and Standardization of Methods by Hakumat Rai

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