London, April 22 (IANS): Forget food, try some flowers instead to increase immunity. If we go by a new research, common edible flowers in China are rich in phenolics and have excellent antioxidant capacity.

These edible flowers have the potential to be used as an additive in food to prevent chronic disease, help health promotion and prevent food oxidisation.

“Edible flowers, which have been used in the culinary arts in China for centuries, are receiving renewed interest. Flowers can be used as an essential ingredient in a recipe, provide seasoning to a dish, or simply be used as a garnish,” the researchers explained.

Some of these flowers contain phenolics that have been correlated with anti-inflammatory activity and a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.

However, the antioxidant mechanisms, the anti-tumour, anti-inflammation and anti-aging activity of the edible flower extracts should be further studied to develop more applications as natural antioxidants, said the study published in the Journal of Food Science.