Antioxidant and Anticancer Activity of Edible Flowers

Abstract

Cancer is the second major cause of deaths after cardiovascular diseases due to exposure to various carcinogens in the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe. Excessive free radicals produced during cellular metabolism can attack the deoxyribose, DNA backbone and bases, which leads to cytotoxicity or mutation and finally it causes cancer. There is a necessity for research to search of new compounds with cytotoxic activity, as the treatment of cancer. The available anticancer drug is often unsatisfactory due to the problem, which cause cytotoxicity to the normal cells along with cancer cells. Plants are considered as the valuable sources of bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity, which produce certain substances that have effects on living animal cells like apoptosis of cancer cells. In recent days emphasis has been on the use of edible sources for maintenance of the health. Therefore edible flowers which are now extensively used in preparation of foods is gaining much more attention for their medicinal value. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant and antitumor activity of aqueous and ethanol extracts of Rose and Pea flowers.

Keywords: Edible flowers, Blue pea flower, Rose, Anticancer, Antioxidant