Chlorophyll a and its derivatives extracted from the dried laver, “Nori”, Porphra yezoensis, which had been stored under high humidity conditions, were separated in a short time by anion exchange column chromatography with DEAE-T0YOPEARL 650 M. Fractions successively eluted with acetone, acetone/H2O (99:1, v/v), acetone/H2O/CH3COONH4 (98:2:0.1, v/v/w) and acetone/H2O/CH3COONH4 (95:5:0.2v/v/w), contained, respectively, pheophytin a plus carotenoids, chlorophyll a, pheophorbide a, and chloroghilliide a. The pigments in the fractions were quantitatively determined by spectrophotometric method. The results suggest that this chromatographic menthod is effective in determination of chlorophyll a its derivatives in fresh as well as stored alagal thalli.
