Edible Wild Flowers: An Innovative but Ancient Food

Edible flowers are often mentioned in connection with biologically active substances and their presence is today frequent in supermarkets. The main factor that determines their use is their appearance, so particular attention must be paid to the shelf life. Flowers must be protected from desiccation and their quality must be preserved. Thus, the aims of this study were to evaluate the shelf life of the spontaneous edible flowers Glebionis segetum, Malva sylvestris, and Tropaeolum majus and Papaver rhoeas, and to detect the presence of major polyphenols. The flowers were packaged with polypropylene (PP) bags and then stored in a refrigerator at +4 ± 1 °C. Samples were tested in the dark and in the presence of light for 12 days. Gas composition, weight loss, and color were registered once the packages were opened; antioxidant activity, total phenols, and enzymatic analyses were performed. The light has a negative influence, the weight loss was limited, and the gas composition did not change significantly during shelf life, with variation in the studied samples. The highest variation in color parameters was found in control samples, whereas the extracts from G. segetum showed the highest antioxidant activity and polyphenol content; in addition, it was the most resistant but also had the highest weight loss. Furthermore, enzymatic results indicated the PP was the best packaging film if used in the dark. P. rhoeas was characterized by extreme fragility, M. sylvestris was not able to tolerate low temperatures, and T. majus changed its color progressively with time.