Detection of chlorophyll derivatives in soybean oil by HPLC

Chlorophyll derivatives have been isolated from a degummed soybean oil by cellulose column chromatography and resolved by reversed phase HPLC. The HPLC separation was performed on a Zorbax ODS column using acetone-methanol (75:25) as the mobile phase. Seven major components were detected by visible (650 nm) light absorption. Pheophytin A is the predominant component of the mixture (40–45% of the total). Pheophytin A’, pyropheophytin A, and three unidentified pigments having spectral features resembling pheophytin A comprise the other major pigments. No evidence was found for the presence of chlorophylls A and B in this oil.