Edible flowers : The rose

Abstract

Besides the importance of roses in amenity horticulture, medicine, history, economics and art, we examined the use of petals in the food industry, based on professional literature data. Among the edible roses, Rosa rugosa has an extremely high natural antioxidant capacity and antiproliferative effect in case of some cancers. Rosa chinensis has a high content of soluble free phenol and flavonoids and also has a high free radical scavenging ability. The macro-and micronutrient content is low in Rosa odorata petals, but it can be used as functional food like the other 100-200 species. Petals can be used to make jam, rose water, rose wine and sorbet, but can also be used as candy, as a jelly, for desserts and food decoration, as well as for punches, salads and fruits.