Studies of Flavonoid Colorants in Food Products Developed From Hibiscus Blossoms

Hibiscus are garden plants within the USA. However, their potential as a new source of edible flowers, seed, food colorants, and renewable fiber elevates them to the status of a new crop. There are 17 native Hibiscus species grown within USDA Zones 4-10, though they are wetland plants in the wild. These species include Hibiscus aculeatus, H. coccineus, H. grandiflorus, H. laevis, H. moscheutos and H. striatus lambertianus. Other hardy species H. mutabilis, H. syriacus, H. hamabo and H. tileaceous, are suitable for USDA Zones 8-10. Potential applications from these Hibiscus are many, i.e., fresh flowers in salads and garnishes, or dried and used in processed food products, nutraceuticals, dietary supplements and natural food colorants The development of Hibiscus species and hybrids suitable for sustained cultivation here in the US and the commercialization of a wide variety of products prepared with their flowers and seed would add an important new crop to the US agricultural base. This proposal focuses on exploiting this opportunity by the commercialization of teas, vinaigrettes, bulk dried petals, and concentrated petal pigment extracts, derived from Hibiscus species & The Village Botanica Inc.'s (VBI) proprietary Hibiscus hybrids. VBI has complete formulation protocols for a number of value-added product lines, complementing multiple edible products, all from our organically-grown Malvaceae genomes.