Edible flowers are increasingly in demand in the contemporary food and beverage industries due to their diverse natural flavours and colours, outstanding nutritional properties, and advantageous phytochemical compounds, beneficial to human health that go beyond their aesthetic appeal. Various floral components, including stamens, pistils, sepals, and receptacles, make up the flower’s structure, but petals are generally acknowledged as the most palatable and valuable for immediate food intake. Petals produce distinctive substances, such as pigments, bioactive compounds, and volatile compounds, which greatly augment the flower’s considerable value. Consequently, flowers, being the reproductive organs of plants, possess vibrant and aromatic corollas that allure both pollinators and individuals. Edible flowers serve as a delightful complement to floral salads and can be integrated into savoury preparations featuring meats, fish, and soups. Such cuisine provides a distinctive blend of flavours and colours, enhancing its overall nutritional value. Although numerous floral chemicals contain advantageous bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, it is essential to acknowledge that certain chemicals are poisonous. When harvesting ready-to-eat flowers, it is advisable to avoid wilted, dusty, aged, or discoloured specimens due to their low nutritional value and short postharvest life. Avoiding the use of pesticides is also essential when practising intensive cultural care. Furthermore, microbial contamination is another significant concern for fresh consumption. In the industrial sector, processed commodities obtained from flowers, including beverages, flavourings, and natural colourants, continue to increase in demand. In essence, flowers have been a staple of human diets for millennia and will undoubtedly remain so in the future.

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Edible Flowers’ Bioactive Compounds: Nutraceutical Aspect and Industrial Food Exploration

  • Chalermchai Wongs-Aree,
  • Mantana Buanong

摘要

Edible flowers are increasingly in demand in the contemporary food and beverage industries due to their diverse natural flavours and colours, outstanding nutritional properties, and advantageous phytochemical compounds, beneficial to human health that go beyond their aesthetic appeal. Various floral components, including stamens, pistils, sepals, and receptacles, make up the flower’s structure, but petals are generally acknowledged as the most palatable and valuable for immediate food intake. Petals produce distinctive substances, such as pigments, bioactive compounds, and volatile compounds, which greatly augment the flower’s considerable value. Consequently, flowers, being the reproductive organs of plants, possess vibrant and aromatic corollas that allure both pollinators and individuals. Edible flowers serve as a delightful complement to floral salads and can be integrated into savoury preparations featuring meats, fish, and soups. Such cuisine provides a distinctive blend of flavours and colours, enhancing its overall nutritional value. Although numerous floral chemicals contain advantageous bioactive compounds and nutraceuticals with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties, it is essential to acknowledge that certain chemicals are poisonous. When harvesting ready-to-eat flowers, it is advisable to avoid wilted, dusty, aged, or discoloured specimens due to their low nutritional value and short postharvest life. Avoiding the use of pesticides is also essential when practising intensive cultural care. Furthermore, microbial contamination is another significant concern for fresh consumption. In the industrial sector, processed commodities obtained from flowers, including beverages, flavourings, and natural colourants, continue to increase in demand. In essence, flowers have been a staple of human diets for millennia and will undoubtedly remain so in the future.