<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">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 <italic>D.</italic> × <italic>hortorum</italic>, with similar values among its different flower colours. Likewise, <italic>D. merckii</italic> and <italic>D. coccinea</italic> stood out for their high TTA value; however, <italic>D</italic>. <italic>coccinea</italic> also had the highest AA content (0.77-0.9 mg g−1 FW), TP (12.87-19.92 mg GAE g−1 FW), TFl (6.78-11.32 mg QE g−1 DW) and AC (47.28-60.43 mg AAEVC g−1 FW). On the other hand, <italic>D</italic>. <italic>campanulata</italic> was notable for its high levels of moisture, fat and raw fibre; similarly, <italic>D</italic>. <italic>coccinea</italic> 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.</abstract>

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 D. × hortorum, with similar values among its different flower colours. Likewise, D. merckii and D. coccinea stood out for their high TTA value; however, D. coccinea also had the highest AA content (0.77-0.9 mg g−1 FW), TP (12.87-19.92 mg GAE g−1 FW), TFl (6.78-11.32 mg QE g−1 DW) and AC (47.28-60.43 mg AAEVC g−1 FW). On the other hand, D. campanulata was notable for its high levels of moisture, fat and raw fibre; similarly, D. coccinea 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.

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

Folia Horticulturae

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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...

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

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 331 - 342

Received: May 01, 2019

Accepted: Sep 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2019-0026

Keywords
antioxidant capacity, floriphagia, functional food, non-traditional foods, plant genetic resources, post-harvest handling, vegans, vegetarians

© 2019 Esteban Arturo Rivera Espejel et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

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

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 331 - 342

Received: May 01, 2019

Accepted: Sep 17, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fhort-2019-0026

Keywordsantioxidant capacity, floriphagia, functional food, non-traditional foods, plant genetic resources, post-harvest handling, vegans, vegetarians

© 2019 Esteban Arturo Rivera Espejel et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
antioxidant capacity, floriphagia, functional food, non-traditional foods, plant genetic resources, post-harvest handling, vegans, vegetarians