Nutritional Value of Some Flowers Found in Green Spaces as New Food Sources

Supplying safe, natural, and inexpensive food sources for the growing population of the world is a need of contemporary societies. Edible flowers are a new natural source in humans’ food basket. In this regard, the nutritional value of five edible flowers including Tagetes erecta L., gladiolus, yucca (Yucca gloriosa), chrysanthemum, and Hibiscus syriacus were explored. According to the results, the African marigold flowers had the highest total flavonoids (16.13 mg CE g-1 FW), total phenols (14.48 mg GAE g-1 FW), antioxidant capacity (87.89 % DPPH inhibition), vitamin C (30.60 mg 100 g-1 FW), and proteins (1.56 %). The highest carotenoids (482.57 μg g-1 FW), Fe (2.54 mg 100 g-1 FW), and Zn (0.27 mg 100 g-1 FW) were recorded by the yucca flowers. The chrysanthemum flowers exhibited the highest Ca (47.25 mg 100 g-1 FW) and Mg (2.60 mg 100 g-1 FW), and the H. syriacus flowers exhibited the highest anthocyanins (30.86 mg/100 g-1 FW). In addition, the gladiolus flowers showed the lowest total flavonoids (11.17 mg CE g-1 FW), anthocyanins (2.14 mg 100 g-1 FW), proteins (0.52 %), Fe (0.36 mg 100 g-1 FW), Ca (9.11 mg/100 g-1 FW), and Zn (0.14 mg 100 g-1 FW). The chrysanthemums had the lowest total phenols (0.54 mg GAE g-1 FW) and vitamin C (8.16 mg 100 g-1 FW), the yuccas had the lowest antioxidant capacity (47.76% DPPH inhibition), and the H. syriacus flowers had the lowest carotenoids (362.17 μg g-1 FW). So, given the phenol and antioxidant compounds, minerals, and proteins of the studied flowers, they can be included in the food basket of households as natural food sources.