Metalloporphyrins and molecular complexes of amino acids with porphyrins in juvenile volcanic ash.

In samples of juvenile ash of the volcano Tjatja, USSR (that erupted in 1973) metalloporphyrins were found. With respect to the fluorescence spectra free bases of the compounds were close to the pigments that formed in abiogenic synthesis experiments (predominance of long-wave length fluorescence band). The pigments detected occurred in the ash as molecular complexes with amino acids which seem to be a abiogenic origin. These findings are of interest in terms of exploration of the processes of chemical evolution and emergence of life on the Earth.