Bioactive Compounds in Edible Flowers

Many societies have found various utilities of edible flowers. They give a more ornamental look, enhances the taste, and also enhances its nutritional value. Numerous studies conducted recently have shown that edible flowers are also rich in nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals. These flowers also contain a variety of phytochemicals, including phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, terpenoids, alkaloids, and other compounds that have been shown to increase biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and antidiabetic, anticancer, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and neuroprotective qualities. Edible flowers have now found their way into a number of industries, including as cosmeceuticals, functional foods, and nutraceuticals.

The book provides information on the nutritional value, phytochemical makeup, and bioactivity of both wild and cultivated flowers. It also describes edible flowers in depth to make them better-known to consumers and the food business. Each chapter discusses the possible toxicological effects of floral components.

Hosakatte Niranjana Murthy was professor at the Postgraduate Department of Botany, Karnatak University, Dharwad, India, where he has served in several positions. He has a PhD from the same university. Apart from teaching experience in the area of plant biotechnology, Prof. Murthy is the recipient of various prestigious fellowships including, Brian Pool Fellowship (awarded by Korean Society of Science and Technology, and National Research Foundation, South Korea), visiting fellowship (awarded by Korean Science and Engineering Foundation, South Korea), Commonwealth Postdoctoral Fellowship (awarded by Korean Association of Commonwealth Universities, UK) and Prof. Raja Ramanna Chair (awarded by Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India). He has completed more than 15 research projects funded by various agencies and supervised 22 PhD students. Prof. Murthy has published 330 research articles in international peer-reviewed journals with high impact factors. His research has been cited more than 7600 times by fellow researchers and his H-index (Hirsch Index) of 45 as recorded by Scopus. Prof. Murthy is currently a Research Professor, Department of Life Sciences, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru, India.