Eggshells and Sunflower Seeds

[Devyn Nagy]

So this is weird. I cracked an egg today and put it in the compost. I also put some sunflower seeds in. Two sunflower seeds landed in the eggshell which had some egg white residue still in it. When I picked up the eggshell later, I noticed the white around the seeds turned a vibrant green. Anyone know why this happened?

 

[sourland]

I have no idea, but that is pretty neat.

 

[CluckerFamily]

Was that black on the sunflower seeds there before you put them into the egg shell?
I'm wondering if it is like a permanent black marker when you write on a strip of paper or coffee filter and put some of the strip into water to watch the color bleed to determine what colors were used to make the black marker.

 

[Devyn Nagy]

Was that black on the sunflower seeds there before you put them into the egg shell?
I'm wondering if it is like a permanent black marker when you write on a strip of paper or coffee filter and put some of the strip into water to watch the color bleed to determine what colors were used to make the black marker.

It is actually very green, although it's kind of hard to see in the image.

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I learned why, so I'm answering my own question. Sunflower seeds have a high chlorogenic acid (CGA) content (1.9–3.1%). Under moist and alkaline conditions, CGA-quinones covalently bind with proteins to form green trihydroxy benzacradine (TBA) derivatives. Very interesting!