Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

FLOWERS: A NEW SOURCE OF NUTRACEUTICALS AND VARIOUS APPROACHES TO INCREASE NUTRACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS IN FLOWERS

Poonam Kumari and M.N. Adarsh

Abstract

Nutraceuticals have received considerable interest because of their presumed safety and potential nutritional and therapeutic effect. “Nutraceutical” is a food or part of food or nutrient that provides health benefits including the prevention and treatment of diseases. Flowers, as a natural resource, have been attracting more and more attention owing to their great potential values of natural antioxidants. In flowers, an increased content of anthocyanins is correlated with higher levels of total flavonoids and it is one of the factors determining their high antioxidant activity. Lutein dipalmitate, the main component of marigold petal, has been reported to possess pharmacological activity and is used as ophtalmological agent. Various approaches have been employed to enhance the production of biologically active compounds from flowers such as physiological and biotechnological approaches.