Investigation of Flower Yield and Quality in Different Color Safflower Genotypes

The present study was carried out to determine variations in flower and dye yield and chemical contents of safflower genotypes with different flower colors in 2017–2018. The flower and dyestuff yields of the genotype ranged between 6.6–12.0 kg da⁻¹ and 218.1–421.7 g da⁻¹, respectively. The TPC and high antioxidant capacity values were listed according to flower color as yellow > orange > red > white. Gallic, rosmarinic and chlorogenic acid were higher in orange-flowered genotypes, kaempferol in red-flowered and catechin in yellow and orange-flowered. The oil content ranged between 4.32–6.12%. In flowers, linoleic acid ranged between 32.77–48.27%, α-linolenic acid 1.85–3.38% and γ-linolenic acid 14.76–18.50%. According to the Headspace Solid Phase Microextraction (HS-SPME) technique; the main scent molecules of flowers were β-caryophyllene, α-pinene, 1-tetradecene, β-cedrene, α-cedrene and β-myrcene. The C* value of flowers was positively correlated with the total phenolic content and dyestuff content in both years, and genotypes with high C value showed high antioxidant activity. Askon-42 can be recommended for high flower yield, dyestuff content and yield among genotypes, and US-10 genotype for the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. For further research, it will guide the use of different colored safflower flower extracts, which are natural dye sources, in natural cosmetic products.