Lipid lowering and anti-ageing effects of edible flowers of Gams in a obese model.

Life expectancy has increased considerably in the last decades, clearing the way for preventive medicine. The ingestion of healthy foods or ingredients to improve health is gaining attention and edible flowers entail a promising source of bioactive compounds. The aim of this work was to study the anti-ageing and anti-obesity properties of an extract obtained from an edible flower though and methodologies with as a model. The capacity to inhibit the enzymes α-glucosidase and lipase as well as to prevent advance glycation end-product (AGE) formation was tested . was used as an obesity model to assess the effects of the extract on fat accumulation, development, progeny and health span. flowers showed lower IC values in the α-glucosidase assay than the reference drug acarbose and exerted a higher inhibition of AGE formation than the reference substance aminoguanidine; the extract also showed pancreatic lipase inhibiting properties. Moreover, the extract lowered fat storage of in a dose-dependent manner, up to 90.37% at the highest tested dose, and improved health span biomarkers such as lipofuscin accumulation and progeny availability. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, the anti-obesogenic and anti-ageing activity of flowers and their potential use as functional foods and nutraceuticals.