Abstract
Flowers have been used for centuries in decoration and traditional medicine, and as components of dishes. In this study, carotenoids and phenolics from 125 flowers were determined by liquid chromatography (RRLC and UHPLC). After comparing four different extractants, the carotenoids were extracted with acetone: methanol (2:1), which led to a recovery of 83%. The phenolic compounds were extracted with 0.1% acidified methanol. The petals of the edible flowers Renealmia alpinia and Lantana camara showed the highest values of theoretical vitamin A activity expressed as retinol activity equivalents (RAE), i.e., 19.1 and 4.1 RAE/g fresh weight, respectively. The sample with the highest total phenolic contents was Punica granatum orange (146.7 mg/g dry weight). It was concluded that in most cases, flowers with high carotenoid contents did not contain high phenolic content and vice versa. The results of this study can help to develop innovative concepts and products for the industry.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2625 |
| Journal | Foods |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Nov 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This research was funded by SENESCYT-Ecuador; the Corporaci?n Ecuatoriana para el Desarrollo de la Investigaci?n y Academia (CEDIA); the Spanish State Secretariat of Research, Development and Innovation (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, project ref. AGL2012-37610, co-funded by FEDER), E.C.-C., D.H., A.B., C.S.; the Ibero-American Programme for Science, Technology and Development (CYTED, http://www.cyted.org) for the funding of the IBERCAROT network (http://carotenoides.us.es/ref.112RT445); the Carotenoid Network: from microbial and plants to food and health (BIO2015-71703-REDT); and CaRed: Red espa?ola de carotenoides (BIO2017-90877-REDT), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Funding Information:
Funding: This research was funded by SENESCYT-Ecuador; the Corporación Ecuatoriana para el Desarrollo de la Investigación y Academia (CEDIA); the Spanish State Secretariat of Research, Development and Innovation (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, project ref. AGL2012-37610, co-funded by FEDER), E.C.-C., D.H., A.B., C.S.; the Ibero-American Programme for Science, Technology and Development (CYTED, http://www.cyted.org) for the funding of the IBERCAROT network (http://carotenoides.us.es/ref.112RT445); the Carotenoid Network: from microbial and plants to food and health (BIO2015-71703-REDT); and CaRed: Red española de carotenoides (BIO2017-90877-REDT), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Funding Information:
Acknowledgments: The authors thank the Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Inovación (SENESCYT) and the Corporación Ecuatoriana para el Desarrollo de la Investigación y Academia (CEDIA), Ecuador, for its financial support; Real Botanic Garden from Córdoba-Spain for the provision of flowers; and the technical staff of the Biology Service (SGI, Universidad de Sevilla) for the services offered. A.J.M.-M. acknowledges funding from the Spanish State Secretariat of Research, Development and Innovation (Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, project ref. AGL2012-37610, co-funded by FEDER). E.C.-C., D.H., A.B., C.S., and A.J.M.-M. thank the Ibero-American Programme for Science, Technology and Development (CYTED, http://www.cyted.org) for the funding of the IBERCAROT network (http://carotenoides.us.es/ref.112RT445). A.J.M.-M. acknowledges funding from the Carotenoid Network: from microbial and plants to food and health (BIO2015-71703-REDT) and CaRed: Red española de carotenoides (BIO2017-90877-REDT), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors.
Keywords
- Antioxidants
- Edible flowers
- Functional foods
- Petals
- Phytochemicals
- Retinol activity equivalents