Edible flowers as a health promoter: An evidence-based review

Rivas-García, Lorenzo; Navarro-Hortal, María D.; Romero-Márquez, Jose M.; Forbes‐Hernández, Tamara Y.; Varela‐López, Alfonso; Llopis, Juan; Sánchez-González, Cristina; Quiles, José L.

doi:10.1016/j.tifs.2020.12.007

Cited by 28 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…The content of nutrients like lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins is similar to those in vegetables [ 12 ]. However, the mineral content of EFs shows the most significant variability regarding nutrient composition, as it is affected by the micronutrients in the soil [ 13 ]. The beneficial compounds for human health include antioxidants, vitamins, phenolics, carotenoids, flavonoids, minerals, and others [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mlček

Plášková

Juríková

et al. 2021

Foods

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mlček

Plášková

Juríková

et al. 2021

Foods

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“…3 A number of studies have indicated that edible plants constitute a promising and long-term dietary intervention for the prevention and management of chronic metabolic disorders, such as prediabetes and T2DM. 4 Tea is originated from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze plant and has been used for dietary and medicinal purposes for over 5000 years, particularly in Asian nations such as China, Japan, and India. 5 Tea is one of the most popular beverages consumed all over the world, and it has gained increasing attention in biomedical applications due to its unique flavor, nontoxicity, nutritional content, and potential health advantages.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Natural dietary supplements have attracted growing scholarly attention owing to their positive effects on several chronic diseases and their negligible side effects . A number of studies have indicated that edible plants constitute a promising and long-term dietary intervention for the prevention and management of chronic metabolic disorders, such as prediabetes and T2DM …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mn(II)-Mediated Self-Assembly of Tea Polysaccharide Nanoparticles and Their Functional Role in Mice with Type 2 Diabetes

Fan

Zhang

Zhao

et al. 2022

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Tea polysaccharide (TPS) is a bioactive compound that has attracted increasing attention for its health effect on regulating the metabolism of glucose and lipid. Moreover, due to their good biocompatibility and biodegradability, TPS-based nanoparticles have emerged as effective nanocarriers for the delivery of bioactive molecules. In this study, we developed a TPS-based biocarrier system for the orally targeted administration of Mn(II) ions and investigated their antidiabetic effects in C57BL/6 mice with HFD/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced T2DM. Mn(II)-loaded TPS-based nanoparticles (MTNPs) were synthesized, in which negatively charged functional groups in protein and uronic acid in TPS conjugates would act as binding sites for Mn(II) ions, which is responsible for the cross-linking reaction of MTNP. The resulting MTNP had a spherical shape and a mean particle size of around 30 nm with a Mn(II) ion content of 2.24 ± 0.13 mg/g. In T2DM mice, we discovered that MTNP treatment significantly lowered blood glucose levels and improved glucose intolerance. Furthermore, the impact of MTNP on the recovery of FINS, the homeostatic index of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), and the homeostatic index of β-cell (HOMA β-cell) levels was significantly larger (p < 0.05) than TPS alone, demonstrating that Mn(II) ions can enhance TPS's ability to repair HFD/STZ-induced β-cell damage. Mn(II) ions in MTNP not only acted as cofactors to increase the exocytosis of insulin secretory cells by upregulating the expression of Ca(II)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMK II) but also promoted TPS's lipid-lowering effect in T2DM mice by inhibiting glucogenesis and regulating the lipid metabolism. Our findings suggest that Mn(II) ions can be used not only as cross-linkers in the formation of nanoparticulated TPS but also as cofactors in improving the functional role of TPS in regulating the glucose and lipid metabolism, which will provide insights into the development of TPS-based drug delivery systems for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

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“…Many of these compounds have been confirmed to exhibit high antioxidant activities (Petrova et al, 2016;Chen et al, 2018;Zheng et al, 2018), and these natural antioxidants may reduce the risk of oxidative damage and prevent chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancers, diabetes mellitus, and Alzheimer's disease (Chew et al, 2019;Yamagata, 2019;de Morais et al, 2020). Many recent studies have focused on characterising the phytochemicals and antioxidant activities of edible flowers, and found that edible flowers could be a good potential source of natural antioxidants (Janarny et al, 2021;Rivas-García et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of solvent extracts from four edible flowers

Yan¹,

Zhou²,

Zhao³

et al. 2022

IFRJ

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In order to identify new sources of natural antioxidants, the antioxidant activities of various solvent extracts from four edible flower samples [Wisteria sinensis (Sims) DC., Benincasa hispida (Thunb.) Cogn, Luffa cylindrica (L.) Roem, and Cucurbita pepo L.) were systemically investigated. The total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), and individual phenolic profile of each extract were investigated, and antioxidant activities were measured by the DPPH radical scavenging activity, superoxide radical scavenging activity, total reduction capability, and ferrous ions chelating activity. Results revealed that all flower extracts exhibited antioxidant activities, and contained certain amounts of phenolic compounds. Specifically, different solvents exhibited different efficiencies in the extraction of phenolics, flavonoids, and compounds with antioxidant activities. The 70% ethanolic extract from B. hispida yielded the highest TPC (49.92 mg GAE/g DW), superoxide radical scavenging activity (IC50, 0.073 mg/mL), and FRAP value (18.05 mg of GAE/g DW). The highest TFC was obtained with the ethanolic extract of W. sinensis (30.39 mg QE/g DW), and the contents of apigenin, luteolin, and myricetin in the ethanolic extract of W. sinensis were significantly higher than those in the other extracts. The 40% ethanolic extract of L. cylindrica yielded the highest DPPH scavenging capacity (IC50, 0.340 mg/mL), and water extract of B. hispida yielded the highest chelating activity (0.027 mg/mL). Correlation analysis indicated that total phenolics and flavonoids in the extracts were the major contributors to the DPPH scavenging activities and FRAP activities. Overall, results demonstrated that these edible flowers could serve as useful source of natural antioxidants, and be used as functional food ingredients.

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Edible flowers as a health promoter: An evidence-based review

Cited by 28 publications

References 88 publications

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

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

Mn(II)-Mediated Self-Assembly of Tea Polysaccharide Nanoparticles and Their Functional Role in Mice with Type 2 Diabetes

Phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of solvent extracts from four edible flowers

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