An update on the health benefits promoted by edible flowers and involved mechanisms

Edible flowers are becoming very popular, as consumers are seeking healthier and more attractive food products that can improve their diet aesthetics and diversify their dietary sources of micronutrients. The great variety of flowers that can be eaten is also associated with high variability in chemical composition, especially in bioactive compounds content that may significantly contribute to human health. The advanced analytical techniques allowed us to reveal the chemical composition of edible flowers and identify new compounds and effects that were not known until recently. Considering the numerous species of edible flowers, the present review aims to categorize the various species depending on their chemical composition and also to present the main groups of compounds that are usually present in the species that are most commonly used for culinary purposes. Moreover, special attention is given to those species that contain potentially toxic or poisonous compounds as their integration in human diets should be carefully considered. In conclusion, the present review provides useful information regarding the chemical composition and the main groups of chemical compounds that are present in the flowers of the most common species.

The Compositional Aspects of Edible Flowers as an Emerging Horticultural Product.

Medicinal plants are valuable resources for drugs, and the major population in developing countries depends on herbal drugs. Increasing demands on the use of medicinal plants as primary therapeutics put pressure on the conservation strategies of wild medicinal plants. The north-eastern region is considered a reservoir of many medicinal plants accounting for approximately half of the available medicinal plants in India. Many medicinal plant species are endemic to this region, and many growing in the wild are left unaware, so there is a need for identification and conservation. National policy needs to be framed and implemented to conserve the population of medicinal plant species. In this modern world, it is essential to adopt both ex situ and in situ methods as complementary techniques for the conservation of the medicinal plant population. 

Traditional Practices of Ethnomedicinal Plants in the North-Eastern Region of India and Their Conservation for Sustainable Utilization

The present experiments were designed to scientifically prove the anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory properties of traditionally used P. thyrsiformis flowers. The flower extracts were subjected to qualitative and quantitative screening. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry technique was employed and eight molecules were identified from the ethyl acetate extract using the NIST library. The extracts were also evaluated for in vitro antioxidant, anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory activities. Potent antioxidant activity was observed for the ethyl acetate extract in both antioxidant assay methods with an IC50 value of 63.36 μg/mL and 64.60 μg/mL, respectively. The ethyl acetate extract also exhibited significant activity in both anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory activities. Correlation studies revealed that the presence of phenol, flavonoid, terpenoid and s-sitosterol in the ethyl acetate extract played a crucial role in its impressive activity. This study provided experimental evidence towards ...

Evaluation of anti-arthritic, HRBC membrane stabilization and antioxidant properties of the edible Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis (Hardow) Mabb flower extracts and their correlation studies

V. Vinodhini

Papers

Evaluation of anti-arthritic, HRBC membrane stabilization and antioxidant properties of the edible Phlogacanthus thyrsiformis (Hardow) Mabb flower extracts and their correlation studies