Chemical, nutritional and sensory characteristics of six ornamental edible flowers species

Abstract

Ornamental edible flowers can be used as novel nutraceutical sources with valuable biological properties. The purpose of this study was to establish nutritional, chemical, and sensory characteristics, antioxidant capacity (AC), and the relationship between their bioactive components and AC. The selected flowers Begonia × tuberhybrida, Tropaeolum majus, Calendula officinalis, Rosa, Hemerocallis, and Tagetes patula, can be easily collected due to their larger size. Their methanolic extracts were spectrophotometrically determined for polyphenols, flavonoids, and AC. Mineral elements were analyzed by atomic-absorption spectroscopy; crude protein was quantified by the Kjeldahl method. Eventually, 30 panelists evaluated sensory properties in 11 attributes. In addition, this study may serve to popularize selected blossoms. In flowers the contents of minerals were in this order: K > Ca > P > Mg > Na > Zn > Mn > Fe > Cu > Mo. AC ranged between 4.11 and 7.94 g of ascorbic acid equivalents/kg of fresh mass. The correlation coefficients between AC-total phenolics and AC-total flavonoids were r = 0.73* and r = 0.58*, respectively. It is also possible to observe a strong correlation between mineral elements and bioactive compounds. Hemerocallis was rated as the best and most tasteful; additionally, it exhibited the highest AC, total phenolic and flavonoid contents.