applied sciences  
In Vitro and In Silico Studies to Assess Edible Flowers' Antioxidant Activities  
[PERSON] 1,2, [PERSON] 1,2, [PERSON] 1, [PERSON] 1, [PERSON] 1,1 [PERSON] 3,2, [PERSON] 1,2,* and [PERSON] 1,*  
1 Laboratory of Chemistry, Analysis & Design of Food Processes, Department of Food Science and Technology, University of West Attica, Agiou Spyridonos, 12243 Egaleo, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (E.K.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.T.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (A.-G.I.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.M.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (I.FS.)
2 Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vas. Constantinou Avenue, 11635 Athens, Greece  
3 Department of Pharmacy, Division of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Athens, 15771 Athens, Greece; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (P.Z.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (V.J.S.); Tel.: +30-21-058-5553 (V.J.S.)  
**Citation:** [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON] [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON]; [PERSON] _In Vitro and In Silico Studies to Assess Edible Flowers' Antioxidant Activities. April. Sci._ 2022, 12, 7331. [[https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147331](https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147331)]([https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147331](https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147331))  
Academic Editors [PERSON] and [PERSON]  
Received: 24 June 2022  
Accepted: 19 July 2022  
Published: 21 July 2022  
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**Cognition:** 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)]([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)))  
**Copyright:** 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ([[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)]([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/)))  
**Abstract:** The incorporation of edible flowers in the human diet and culinary preparations dates back to ancient times. Nowadays, edible flowers have gained great attention due to their health-promoting and nutritive effects and their widespread acceptance by consumers. Therefore, edible flowers are ideal candidates for use in the design and development of functional foods and dietary supplements, representing a new and promising trend in the food industry. Thus, the present study attempts to assess the potential of various edible flowers against oxidative stress by applying a combination of _in vitro_, _in silico_ and spectroscopic techniques. Specifically, the spectroscopic profiles of edible flower extracts were evaluated using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, while their total phenolic contents and antioxidant/antiradical activities were determined spectrophotometrically. The most abundant phytochemicals in the studied flowers were examined as enzyme inhibitors through molecular docking studies over targets that mediate antioxidant mechanisms _in vivo_. Based on the results, the red China rose followed by the orange Mexican marigold exhibited the highest TPCs and antioxidant activities. All samples showed the characteristic FTIR band of the skeletal vibration of phenolic aromatic rings. Phenolic compounds seem to exhibit antioxidant activity with respect to NADPH oxidase, myeloperoxidase (MP), cytochrome P450 and, to a lesser extent, xanthine oxidase (XO) enzymes.  
**Keywords:** edible flowers; phenolic compounds; _in vitro_ antioxidant and antiradical activity; ATR-FTIR; molecular docking; myeloperoxidase; xanthine oxidase