Anthocyanin-rich edible flowers - Impact of food matrix on anthocyanin stability, digestion and absorption: the case of wild pansy, cosmos and cornflower.

Edible flowers are emerging functional ingredients and dietary sources of anthocyanins, yet the influence of food matrices and digestion on their bioaccessibility and absorption remains unclear. Wild pansy (Viola tricolor), cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus), and cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) were evaluated for nutritional composition, phytochemical content, and anthocyanin stability, digestibility, and absorption. All species showed high dietary fiber content, with species-dependent differences in nutritional and phenolic composition. Anthocyanin stability was pH- and matrix-dependent, and strongly influenced by anthocyanin structure. Digestion caused a marked reduction in anthocyanin recovery, particularly after the intestinal phase (up to 62.69% relative to the oral phase). Transepithelial transport assays showed reduced absorption efficiencies for digested extracts compared with free extracts (up to 67.53%), while food matrix components differentially modulated transport depending on matrix type and flower species. Overall, food matrices influenced anthocyanin stability and absorption, highlighting the relevance of matrix-anthocyanin-digestion interactions for dietary recommendations and functional food formulation.