Edible Flowers and Their Relationship with Human Health: Biological Activities

ABSTRACT

Traditionally, edible flowers have been used in alternative medicine by several cultures around the world. Recently, they have gained in popularity as a new trend in worldwide gastronomy because they have been added as ingredients in food and beverages since they have important organoleptic properties and beneficial health effects. In fact, edible flower consumption has increased in the last years, and many works have demonstrated that they are essential sources of macronutrients, vitamins, and antioxidant compounds, which give benefits like prevention against illness associated with oxidative stress, some cardiovascular illness, and cancers, among others. Nowadays, the main studies about edible flowers are focused on their nutritional, functional, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anti-inflammatory properties. This review summarizes relevant information about the properties and bioactive compounds content of edible flowers, likewise, the acceptance and security risks of their consumption, highlighting the importance of their incorporation in human nutrition and the main biological activities. According to the revision process, the consumer acceptability of edible flowers and their inclusion in the human diet have been increased due to their positive health effects.

KEYWORDS:

• Edible flowers
• bioactive compounds
• safe consumption
• nutritional benefits
• biological activities
• minerals

Acknowledgments

C.A.P.N. acknowledges CONACyT, Mexico for their support through a PhD fellowship. A.C.O., A.D.H.F., J.A.M., K.A.A., and D.O.R. also thank Sistema Nacional de Investigadores for the stipend received.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary data

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/87559129.2023.2182885

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [733096]. C.A.P.N. acknowledges CONACyT, Mexico for their support through a PhD fellowship. A.C.O., A.D.H.F., J.A.M., K.A.A., and D.O.R. also thank Sistema Nacional de Investigadores for the stipend received.