## 4 Discussion  
On average, the fresh pumpkin flowers contained (per 100 g): water, 93.6 g; protein, 1.3 g; fat, 0.3 g; ash, 1.3 g; and carbohydrates, 3.8 g. Other authors presented a comparable (93.72-94.25%) [12] or a lower water content (85.03% by weight) in pumpkin flowers [27]. Such low humidity was demonstrated in the flowers of pumpkins harvested in India. The higher water content in fresh pumpkin flowers was reported by the US Department of Agriculture (95.15 g/100 g). In male pumpkin flowers harvested in the lowlands of Puerto Rico's Caribbean basin, the percentages of protein (1.91-1.37%) and carbohydrate (3.5-3.6%) were comparable to this study, while lower fat levels were shown (0.15-0.09%) [12]. Slightly lower protein content in fresh pumpkin flowers was reported by the US Department of Agriculture [28], according to which the protein content was 1.03 g/100 g. A lower fat content, compared to the results obtained in this paper, was published in the USDA report [28]. According to this report, the amount of fat in the fresh weight of these flowers was 0.07 g/100 g. The fatty acid composition is of particular importance for the nutritional value of the fat. Saturated fatty acids (SFA) and monoenoic fatty acids (MUFA) can be synthesized in the human body. Polyenoic acids (PUFAs) are not synthesized due to the lack of enzyme systems capable of introducing double bonds at the n-6 and n-3 positions of the carbon chain and must be supplied daily with food. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids from the n-3 family (docosahexaenoicenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) and eicosopentenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3)) are particularly important for the proper functioning of the nervous and circulatory systems [29; 30]. The fatty acid profile presented by some other authors differs from that presented in this paper. [PERSON] and [PERSON] [27] showed the highest amounts of oleic acid (21%), myristic acid (15.99%), and stearic acid (15.19%) in pumpkin flowers from India. The ash content of minerals in pumpkin flowers varied, ranging from 0.85% to 1.92%. A lower ash content in 100 g of fresh pumpkin flowers, compared to the results obtained in the study, was reported in the USDA report (0.48 g) as well as by [PERSON] et al. [12] (0.70-0.78). Fresh pumpkin flowers are a significant source of iron. According to this study, 100 g of fresh pumpkin flowers of the Atlantic Giant or Bambino variety cover 60-80% of the EAR (Estimated Average Requirement) iron level for adults [31]. Such an iron content is twice as high as that in 100 g of spinach (2.8 mg) and is comparable with the content in 100 g of parsley leaves (5.3 mg) [32]. In the pumpkin flowers collected in India, the authors showed a comparable content of Ca (17.6 mg/100 g), but much lower amounts of potassium (only 18.2 mg/100 g) [27]. In the studies of [PERSON] et al. [12], comparable levels of potassium, magnesium, and iron were obtained, but the maximum amount of Fe was 2.07 mg/100 g. The content of calcium shown by the authors was higher (58.4-52.22 mg), while Mn and Zn were lower (0.21-0.13 mg and 0.17-0.13 mg, respectively). Total carbohydrates in fresh pumpkin flowers in this study were in the range of 3.02-3.90%. A similar carbohydrate content in fresh pumpkin flowers was published in a report by the US Department of Agriculture (3.28 g/100 g) [28], as well as by [PERSON] et al. [12]. Total sugar (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) as determined by other authors was similar or higher than the results obtained in this study, which ranged from 2.18 to 7.76 g/100 g FW [16]. The energy value of fresh pumpkin flowers was low and amounted to an average of 21.75 kcal/100 g. Pumpkin flowers of Rouge vif d'Etampes were characterized by the highest energy value, with high protein, fat, and carbohydrate content at the same time. The highest energy value was found in the cultivar Miranda and Rouge vif d'Etampes,and the lowest was found in the flowers of the Atlantic Giant (18.67 kcal/100 g FM) and Buttermut (18.88 kcal/100 FM).