Greenhouse Plant Production Journal
Quarterly

Freezing and air drying determine phytochemical traits and antioxidant potential of selected edible flowers

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Mahdi AsgariI Gouraj

PhD Student, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, Rasht, Iran

https://doi.org/10.61882/gppj.2.3.51
Abstract
This study investigated the phytochemical composition and antioxidant potential of edible flower according A factorial experiment on six species (Rosa spp., Calendula officinalis, Viola odorata, Trifolium pratense, Sambucus nigra, and Borago officinalis) using two solvents (aqueous and ethanolic) and four sample states (fresh, freeze-dried, and air-dried at 30 and 50 °C) a. Bioactive compounds were evaluated by total phenolic content (TPC) and monomeric anthocyanin content (MAC), while antioxidant activities were assessed through DPPH, ABTS, FRAP, and reducing power (RP) assays. Results showed that both main factors and their interactions significantly influenced phytochemicals and antioxidant capacity. Fresh and freeze-dried flowers retained the highest levels of phenolics, anthocyanins, and antioxidant activity, whereas hot-air drying at 50 °C caused the greatest losses. Ethanolic extraction consistently outperformed aqueous extraction in recovering bioactive compounds and antioxidant potential. Correlation analysis indicated moderate positive associations between TPC and antioxidant assays, and strong correlations between MAC and RP. The study was limited to six species, selected drying temperatures, and two solvent types. Nevertheless, findings highlight that freeze-drying combined with ethanolic extraction is the most effective method to preserve phytochemical integrity and antioxidant capacity of edible flowers. These insights can guide food and nutraceutical industries in optimizing processing strategies for maintaining the nutritional and functional properties of floral ingredients.




 

Keywords

Antioxidant activity
Edible flowers
Ethanolic extraction
Freeze-drying
Phenolic compounds
  1. Benzie, I.F. & Strain, J.J., 1996. The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of ‘antioxidant power’: The FRAP assay. Analytical Biochemistry, 239(1), pp.70–76. DOI: 10.1006/abio.1996.0292
  2. Brand-Williams, W., Cuvelier, M.E. & Berset, C.L.W.T., 1995. Use of a free radical method to evaluate antioxidant activity. LWT – Food Science and Technology, 28(1), pp.25–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0023-6438(95)80008-5
  3. Calín-Sánchez, Á. et al., 2020. Comparison of traditional and novel drying techniques and its effect on quality of fruits, vegetables and aromatic herbs. Foods, 9(9), p.1261. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9091261
  4. Cao, Y. et al., 2022. BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 escape antibodies elicited by Omicron infection. Nature, 608(7923), pp.593–602.
  5. Esfandiarpour-Boroujeni, I. et al., 2020. Detection of lithologic discontinuities in soils: a case study of arid and semi-arid regions of Iran. Eurasian Soil Science, 53(10), pp.1374–1388.
  6. Fernandes, R.B. et al., 2023. Using photometrically derived properties of young stars to refine TESS’s transiting young planet survey completeness. The Astronomical Journal, 166(4), p.175.
  7. Fernández-S.J.V. et al., 2021. Características epidemiológicas de la COVID-19 en La Habana, epicentro de Cuba. Revista Cubana de Higiene y Epidemiología, 58(1), pp.1–22.
  8. Grzegorczyk, M. et al., 2021. Blending the physical and virtual: a hybrid model for the future of work. Bruegel Policy Contribution, No.14/2021.
  9. Grzeszczuk, M., Wesołowska, A. & Stefaniak, A., 2020. Biological value and essential oil composition of two Monarda species flowers. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Hortorum Cultus, 19(4), pp.105–119.
  10. Guiné, R.P. et al., 2021. The duality of innovation and food development versus purely traditional foods. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 109, pp.16–24.
  11. Gupta, A. et al., 2016. Projected uptake of new antiretroviral medicines in adults in low- and middle-income countries. PLoS One, 11(10), e0164619.
  12. Kim, S. et al., 2023. PubChem 2023 update. Nucleic Acids Research, 51(D1), pp. D1373–D1380.
  13. Kniffin, K.M. et al., 2021. COVID-19 and the workplace: Implications, issues, and insights. American Psychologist, 76(1), pp.63–77. DOI: 10.1037/amp0000716
  14. López-Lacort, M. et al., 2024. Nirsevimab immunoprophylaxis effectiveness in infants. Eurosurveillance, 29(6), p.2400046.
  15. López-Otín, C. et al., 2023. Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe. Cell, 186(2), pp.243–278.
  16. Martin, F.J. et al., 2023. Ensembl 2023. Nucleic Acids Research, 51(D1), pp. D933–D941.
  17. Mishra, S., Dash, D. & Das, A.P., 2022. Biofragmentation of microfibers from wastewater. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 185, p.114254.
  18. Munteanu, I.G. & Apetrei, C., 2021. Analytical methods used in determining antioxidant activity: A review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(7), p.3380. DOI: 10.3390/ijms22073380
  19. Owliaie, H.R., 2023. Comparing Soil Taxonomy and WRB Efficiency for Gypsiferous-Calcareous Soils. Water and Soil, 37(4), pp.603–620.
  20. Peng, Y., Chen, C. & Huang, G., 2024.  IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)., 29(6), p.2400046.   
  21. Pérez-González, P.G. et al., 2023. UV luminosity function at z>8 with JWST. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 951(1), p.L1.
  22. Pires, R. et al., 2023. Evaluating GPT-4’s vision capabilities. arXiv preprint, arXiv:2311.14169.
  23. Prabawati, A. et al., 2021. Students’ perception of online media for English learning. English Language Teaching Methodology, 1(3), pp.169–181.
  24. Re, R. et al., 1999. Improved ABTS radical cation decolorization assay. Free Radical Biology & Medicine, 26(9–10), pp.1231–1237.
  25. Roozitalab, M.H., Siadat, H. & Farshad, A. (eds.), 2018. The soils of Iran. Springer.
  26. Selvi, J.T., Subhashini, K. & Methini, M., 2021. COVID-19 chest X-ray investigation using texture features. Computational, 1, pp.45–58.
  27. Singleton, V.L., Orthofer, R. & Lamuela-Raventós, R.M., 1999. Analysis of total phenols by Folin–Ciocalteu reagent. Methods in Enzymology, 299, pp.152–178.
  28. Thiex, N., Novotny, L. & Crawford, A., 2012. Determination of ash in animal feed. Journal of AOAC International, 95(5), pp.1392–1397.
  29. Touvron, H. et al., 2023. Llama 2: Open foundation and fine-tuned chat models. arXiv preprint, arXiv:2307.09288.
  30. Tyśkiewicz, R. et al., 2022. Trichoderma in agriculture for biocontrol and growth. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(4), p.2329.
  31. Waterhouse, D.M. et al., 2020. Continuous vs 1-year nivolumab in lung cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 38(33), pp.3863–3873.
  32. Xia, C. et al., 2022. Cancer statistics in China and the US. Chinese Medical Journal, 135(5), pp.584–590.
  33. Yammine, E. & Rammal, A., 2021. Socio-economic determinants of COVID-19 infections. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(19), p.10071. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910071
  34. Zawiślak, A. et al., 2024. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in cleft lip/palate. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 25(17), p.9310.
Greenhouse Plant Production Journal
Volume 2, Issue 3
Summer 2025
Pages 51-61

  • Receive Date 03 July 2025
  • Revise Date 15 August 2025
  • Accept Date 20 September 2025
  • First Publish Date 20 September 2025
  • Publish Date 01 September 2025

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us