A Snapshot on Food Allergies: A Case Study on Edible Flowers

Chemical, Nutritional and Sensory Characteristics of Six Ornamental Edible Flowers Species

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.

The Effects of Post-Harvest Treatments on the Quality of Agastache aurantiaca Edible Flowers

Agastache spp. are used as ornamental plants for their pleasant aroma and the different colors of flowers. Nowadays, their edible flowers have become attractive for their nutraceutical properties. Post-harvest treatment appears as a crucial point to avoid impairment of the nutraceutical compounds and aroma, so different treatments were tested to analyze their effect on the bioactive metabolites and volatilome. Results indicated that freeze-drying was the best solution to prolong the shelf life of these flowers. The use of high temperatures (50, 60, 70 °C) led to altered the composition of antioxidant compounds (phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins, carotenoids). Air-drying at 30 °C was a reasonable method, even though time consuming. Concerning the aroma profile, all samples were dominated by oxygenated monoterpene compounds. Pulegone was the main or one of the major constituents of all samples together with p-menthone. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry results showed a correlation between the temperature and the number of identified compounds. Both fresh and freeze-dried samples evidenced a lesser number (10 and 19, respectively); when the temperature raised, the number of identified constituents increased. Statistical analyses highlighted significant differences between almost all aromatic compounds, even if both Principal Component and Hierarchical Cluster analyses differed at 60 and 70 °C and from the other treatments.