Chlorophyll is a widely used ingredient for various applications including medicines food supplements, cosmetics and and toiletries. It is extracted traditionally from alfalfa, spinach and algae.
Altemanthera sessilis, commonly known as mukunuwenna available in Sri Lanka is proposed for the
extraction of chlorophyll. The extraction was carried out using buffered 80% aqueous acetone. The
optimum operating conditions; solvent to A. sessilis ratio, extraction temperature and extraction time
were found to be 5 ml/g, 50°C and 45 minutes, respectively. The yield of chlorophyll a and
chlorophyll h under the optimum operating conditions are 659 and 261 pg/g of A. sessilis respectively
and comparison of results obtained on yield with the reported data is presented. Furthermore, the
mass transfer from the solid to the solvent for various operating temperatures was modelled and
validated with the experimental results.
