The director of the Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) in Italy, Dr. Maurizio Battino, together with other professionals, is conducting a study on the properties of rosa x hybridaextracts, focusing mainly on their antiproliferative effects.
Edible flowers have gained popularity in recent years in various fields. In modern gastronomy, they are being used as a new ingredient in the elaboration of new recipes for soups, salads, desserts, or to garnish dishes. This could generate new flavors and colors in the kitchen. They have also generated interest in the medical field due to their phenolic compounds with potential for biomedical applications.
Edible flowers have become an emerging niche market in online commerce in countries such as Portugal, Australia, and the United Kingdom, among others. Given its impact, we studied in this research the dual action of a methanolic extract of Rosa x hybrida (red rose), its antiproliferative effect against tumor cells and inhibitors of Alzheimer’s disease. Thirty-five individual phenolic compounds were determined in a rose extract.
The extract was evaluated for its antiproliferative properties in ovarian carcinoma cells. In addition, the properties of the extract were evaluated in vivo in C. elegans.
Study results
The results of the study showed that Rosa x hybrida petals can be a suitable dietary source of phenolic compounds, mainly flavonols such as kaempferol or quercetin, anthocyanins, flavanols, and phenolic acids. Petal extract can also promote antiproliferative activity in ovarian carcinoma cells, in particular, by inducing autophagy and apoptosis with concomitant increase of ROS, which it is believed is related to mitochondrial dysfunction. These effects could probably be related to certain components of the extract such as quercetin.
It was observed that the extract did not produce any damage to healthy cells and improved wound healing activity.
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The Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) offers various programs in the field of Health and Nutrition, such as the Master in Nutrition and Food Biotechnology.