## 3 Results and Discussion  
### Nutritional Composition  
The nutritional composition of the flowers is presented in Table 1. The highest moisture content was found in flowers of Xoconoxtle Cuaresmeno (XC) (6.72 g/100 g of dry weight), and the lowest content (4.45 g/100 g of dry weight) was observed in flowers of Cardon (CA).  
In general, flowers had the highest carbohydrate content, followed by ash and proteins. The carbohydrate contents ranged from 55.83 g/100 g DW (PI) to 67.44 g/ 100 g DW (CA). These values are higher than those reported by [PERSON] et al. [23] in flowers of nopal (_Opuntia ficus-indica_ L.) and nopal tunero (_Opuntia ficus_), and by [PERSON] et al. [24] in flowers of paracress (_Spilanthes olercea_ L.), nasturtium (_Tropacoulum majus_ L.) and Mexican marigold (_Tagetes erceta_ L.). However, [PERSON] et al. [3] reported similar values in edible flowers of erythrina (_Erythrina caribaea_) and rugosa rose (_Rosa micrantha_). Meanwhile, [PERSON] et al. [25] reported higher values in marigold flowers (_Calendula officinalis_ L.), dahlia (_Dahlia mignon_), Damascus rose (_Rosa \(\times\) damascena_), and cornflower (_Centaurea cyanus_ L.).  
The ash content ranged from 11.21 g/100 g DW (CA) to 17.73 g/100 g DW (Xoconoxte Ulapa (XU)). A relatively high ash content was found compared to values reported by [PERSON] et al. [26] in pany flowers (_Viola \(\times\) vittrockiana_) and dragonillo (_Antirinum majus_ L.), and by [PERSON] et al. [10] in agave (_Aloe vera_), alo (_Aloe vera_), coral tree (_Erytlrina americana_) and garambullo (_Myrtillocatus geometrizans_) flowers. On the other hand, [PERSON] et al. [27] reported higher values in blue forage flowers (_Borago officinalis_ L.) and in pany flower varieties (_Viola \(\times\) vittrockiana_).  
The results of the protein and fat contents were consistent with those reported by [PERSON] et al. [23] in flowers of nopal (_Opuntia focus-indica_ L.) and nopal tunero (_Opuntia stricta_). On the other hand, [PERSON] et al. [25] reported a lower protein content in cornflower flowers (_Centaurea cyanus_ L.), dahlia (_Dahlia mignon_), calendula (_Calendula officinalis_ L.), and Damascus rose (_Rosa \(\times\) damascena_). However, the fat content was similar to values reported in Table 1. In other reports, higher protein and fat contents were found in nasturtium flowers (_Tropaeolum majus_ L.), Begonia (_Begonia \(\times\) semperflorens_), and yellow cosmos (_Cosmos sulphureus_) [28].  
The results obtained for crude fiber, with values from 8.47 g/100 g DW (CA) to 11.52 g/100 g DW (XU, Pitaya (PI)), were lower compared than those reported by [PERSON] et al. [23] in flowers of nopal (_Opuntia focus-indica_ L.) and nopal tunero (_Opuntia stricta_) and from observations by [PERSON] et al. [26] in pany flowers (_Viola \(\times\) vittrockiana_) and dragontillo (_Antirinum majus_ L.). However, similar values were described in flowers from agave (_Agave salmiana_), alo (_Aloe vera_), coral tree (_Erythrina americana_), and garambullo (_Myrtillocatus geometrizans_) reported by [PERSON] et al. [10]. The flowers of CA, XU, XC and PI offered high energy values corresponding to 1300 kJ/100 g of fresh weight. This was due to the high content of carbohydrates present in the samples: higher than 55%. According to the obtained results, cactus flowers could be considered as a paired protein source in the diet, which is similar to other flowers and vegetables. In previous studies, it has been shown that edible flowers are a complementary nutritional source, with a composition similar to that of other plant foods, characterized by low lipid content, medium protein and fiber contents, and variable carbohydrate and mineral contents [25; 26; 28].