Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
The present work details the nutritional and chemical compositions of borage and centaurea, at three flowering
stages. Water was the main constituent, followed by total dietary fiber. Both flowers showed statistically different
(p < 0.05) nutritional and chemical profiles, although in both, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)
(mainly linoleic and α-linolenic acids), free sugars (3.9–28.9% dw as fructose, glucose, and sucrose), tocopherols
(with the major contribution of α-tocopherol from 1.24 to 2.75 mg/100 g dw), carotenoids (0.2–181.4 mg/100 g
dw, mainly as lutein), and organic acids (6.1–14.4 g/100 g dw, mainly malic, succinic, and citric acids) were
quantified. Concerning flowering, significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for some components, particularly
carotenoids; however, no specific trend was observed in either of the two flower species. Thus, the
present study shows that each flo
Description
Keywords
Carotenoids Edible flowers Fatty acids Flower development Free sugars Organic acids Tocopherols Vitamin E
Citation
Fernandes, L.; Pereira, J. A.; Saraiva, J. A.; Ramalhosa, E.; Casal, S. (2019). Phytochemical characterization of Borago officinalis L. and Centaurea cyanus L. during flower development. Food Research International. ISSN 0963-9969. 123, p. 771-778