Physicochemical quality, antioxidant capacity and nutritional value of edible flowers of some wild dahlia species

• Published in: Folia Horticulturae Vol. 31; no. 2; pp. 331 - 342
• Main Authors: Espejel, Esteban Arturo Rivera, Alvarez, Oscar Cruz, Muñoz, José Merced Mejía, Mateos, María del Rosario García, León, María Teresa Beryl Colinas, Damián, María Teresa Martínez
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kraków Sciendo 01.12.2019; De Gruyter Poland
• Subjects: Acidity; Anthocyanins; antioxidant capacity; Antioxidants; Ascorbic acid; Bioactive compounds; Carbohydrates; Composition; Design of experiments; Domestication; Dry matter; Experimental design; Flavonoids; floriphagia; Flowers; functional food; non-traditional foods; Nutritive value; Ornamental plants; Phenols; plant genetic resources; post-harvest handling; vegans; vegetarians; Weight
• ISSN: 2083-5965; 0867-1761; 2083-5965
• DOI: 10.2478/fhort-2019-0026

Mexico is the centre of origin and domestication of the dahlia, which has the widest distribution worldwide as an ornamental plant; however, due to changes in eating habits in some sectors of the population (vegetarians and vegans), it has also been incorporated as an ingredient in the gastronomic field. The aim of this research was to determine the attributes of physicochemical quality, antioxidant capacity and nutritional value of ligulate flowers of some wild dahlia species. A completely randomized experimental design with five repetitions was used. Fresh weight, total titratable acidity (TTA), total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid (AA), colour, total phenols (TP), total flavonoids (TFl), total anthocyanins (TAn), antioxidant capacity (AC) and proximate composition were evaluated. The highest fresh weight was observed in × , with similar values among its different flower colours. Likewise, and stood out for their high TTA value; however, . also had the highest AA content (0.77-0.9 mg g FW), TP (12.87-19.92 mg GAE g FW), TFl (6.78-11.32 mg QE g DW) and AC (47.28-60.43 mg AAEVC g FW). On the other hand, . was notable for its high levels of moisture, fat and raw fibre; similarly, . stood out for its high amounts of dry matter and total carbohydrates. The ligulate flowers of wild dahlias have a high concentration of bioactive compounds and a nutritional composition with beneficial contributions to health care, so they could be used for consumption as fresh products.