Chemical Composition of Petals of Chrysanthemum spp.

Chemical compositions of petals of Chrysanthemum spp. were determined to renew its interest as a food material. The moisture contents of wild Chrysanthemum boreale and holticulturized Chrysanthemum morifolium were 11.7% and 11.0%. The proximate chemical ompositions were 6.1% and 11.7% in protein, 3.7% and 5.2% in ash, 11.1% and 12.8% in reducing sugar, of C. boreale and C. morifolium, respectively. Free sugars were mainly composed of fructose, glucose and sucrose. In fatty acid composition, the ratios of saturated to unsaturated fatty acids were 1.2:1 and 3.0:1, respectively. The amino acids determined were found 0.18 and 0.26 in the ratio of essential to total amino acids in each sample. Major elements of Chrysanthemum petals were Ca, K, Fe, Mg and Na, but the contents of Ca and Fe were more than twice higher in C. boreale than c. morifolium, Major volatile flavor components were 28.22% of epi-bicyclophellandrene and 24.55% of camphor in C. boreale, and 14.24% of 4-methyl-1-(10methylethyl)-3-cyclhexen-1-ol, 10.74% of camphor and 7.64% of 1,8-cineol in C. morifolium.