Phytochemical Content, Health Benefits, and Toxicology of Common Edible Flowers: A Review (2000–2015)

Abstract

Edible flowers contain numerous phytochemicals which contribute to their health benefits, and consumption of edible flowers has increased significantly in recent years. While many researchers have been conducted, no literature review of the health benefits of common edible flowers and their phytochemicals has been compiled. This review aimed to present the findings of research conducted from 2000 to 2015 on the species, traditional application, phytochemicals, health benefits, and the toxicology of common edible flowers. It was found in 15 species of common edible flowers that four flavonols, three flavones, four flavanols, three anthocyanins, three phenolic acids and their derivatives were common phytochemicals and they contributed to the health benefits such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, and neuroprotective effect. Toxicology studies have been conducted to evaluate the safety of common edible flowers and provide information on their dosages and usages.

Edible flowers as sources of phenolic compounds with bioactive potential

“…The hydromethanolic extracts and the infusions of rose petals were able to inhibit lipid peroxidation and to prevent oxidative damage, as well as, promote free radicals scavenging according to the results obtained for the DPPH radical scavenging assay (0.18 and 0.82 mg/mL, respectively), reducing power (1.29 and 0.64 mg/mL, respectively) and β-carotene bleaching inhibition (0.38 and 1.12 mg/mL, respectively) These results were in accordance with those obtained by for petals of Rosa canina L. Researches revealed that phytochemicals such as anthocyanins, flavonoids, phenolic acids, alkaloids, and glycosides in edible flowers exerted high anti-oxidant activities (Lu, Li, & Yin, 2016).…”

“…These differences may be related to the presence of total flavonoids present in the samples as described by Lu et al, 2016. Regarding antiproliferative activity, not all the samples studied inhibit the growth of the studied tumor cell lines. Dahlia hydromethanolic extracts and infusion gave the lowest GI 50 values against HeLa (223.65 μg/mL) and MCF-7 (361.99 μg/mL, 303.27 μg/mL respectively) cell lines.…”

Effect of high hydrostatic pressure on the quality of four edible flowers: Viola × wittrockiana, Centaurea cyanus, Borago officinalis and Camellia japonica

“…On the other hand, despite still being regarded as a niche market, attention to this kind of product begins to increase due to their interesting potential as a source of nutrients and bioactive compounds (Patel & Naik, 2010;Benvenuti et al, 2016;Loizzo et al, 2016;Lu et al, 2016) in line with the actual healthy food trends.…”

Nutritional and chemical characterization of edible petals and corresponding infusions: Valorization as new food ingredients

“…Edible flower consumption is being encouraged, through the sell of packed bunches and boxes, and also through dietary supplements, functional ingredients, and additives (Loizzo et al, 2016;Rop et al, 2012). The innumerous phytochemicals present in edible flowers are related to their health benefits, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, hypoglycemic, neuro, hepatic and gastro protective properties (Cunningham, 2015;Loizzo et al, 2016;Lu, Li, & Yin, 2016).…”