The study was conducted during 2017 in the laboratories of the department of Botany
at Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria. The effect of ultraviolet radiation (UV-C and UVB)
for different periods (0.5, 1, 3, 5, 15, 15, 30, 45, 60 minutes) on the
photosynthetic
pigments of Euglena gracilis (with three stages of measurements) was studied. The results
showed that chlorophyll pigments were more sensitive to UV-C compared to UV-B. These
reductions were correlated with the increase in the exposure time, reaching the lowest
value after 60 minutes exposure (97.83, 98.73, 99.18% for chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and
carotenoids when measured after 24 hours respectively).
The polyethylene films protect the chlorophyll pigments against UV radiation.
The protection rate was more evident against UV-C reaching .7.7% after 24 hours in the
algae exposed for 30 minutes according to the experimental conditions.
