Rop et al. (2012) reported that edible flowers of Dianthus caryophyllus had a dry matter content (%w/w) of 11.55 %, crude protein of 6.89 g/kg and the following elements (mg/kg fresh mass (FM)): P 531.35 mg, K 3544.81 mg, Ca 491.89 mg, Mg 186.55 mg, Na 114.29 mg, Fe 9.85 mg, Mn 7.49 mg, Cu 2.88 mg, Zn 7.17 mg and Mo 0.55 mg. The flowers had total antioxidant capacity of 6.96 g ascorbic acid equivalents/kg FM, total phenolic content of 5.28 g gallic acid/kg FM and total flavonoid content of 2.27 g rutin/kg FM.

Cytosolic lipid-protein particles containing phospholipid as well as the same fatty acids were found in microsomal membranes of carnation petals (Hudak and Thompson 1997). The lipid-protein particles were also enriched in hexanal, trans-2-hexenal, 1-hexanol, 3-hexen-1-ol and 2-hexanol, volatiles of carnation flower fragrance that were derived from membrane fatty acids through the lipoxygenase pathway.

The flower scent volatiles of flowering carnations were differentiated by the proportion of eugenol (trace-84.1 %) and methyl salicylate (0.1–1.4 %) (Clery et al. 1999). Some modern varieties produce low levels of eugenol but higher levels of benzoic acid derivatives (methyl benzoate and benzyl benzoate) and the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene (Clery et al. 1999; Lavy et al. 2002). At the petal emerging from the bud stage (6 days before anthesis), only five scent volatiles (μg/g) were detected in carnation cv. Eilat-detached petal extract, dominated by p-vinylphenol (65.5 μg) and 4-vinyl guaiacol (10 μg); the remaining volatiles included maltol (5.4 μg), guaiacol (1.1 μg) and cis-3-hexenylbenzoate (0.1 μg) (Lavy et al. 2002). At the mature flower opened stage (anthesis), benzoic acid (40 μg) and its derivatives, benzyl benzoate (19.7 μg) and phenylethyl benzoate (13.4 μg), predominated 4-vinyl guaiacol (16.8 μg) and p-vinylphenol (21.6 μg) and were still high but the latter less than in the young flower stage. Other scent volatiles (μg/g) detected included cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (6.5 μg), benzyl salicylate (2.8 μg), hexyl benzoate (0.6 μg), vanillic acid (4.3 μg), methyl homovanillate (3.1 μg), coumaric acid (3.9 μg), guaiacol (1.1 μg), nonanal (1.7 μg) maltol (0.8 μg), nonanoic acid (0.6 μg) and the sesquiterpene β-caryophyllene oxide (0.8 μg). No monoterpenes were detected. The profile of the major scent volatiles in carnation flower headspace was different. The young flower contained cis-3-hexenyl acetate (82.3 %), 3-hexen-1-ol (9.9 %), cis-3-hexenyl tiglate (2.2 %),1-hexyl acetate (0.5 %), methyl benzoate (0.2 %), nonanal (1.6 %), decanal (0.4 %), cis-3-hexenyl isovalerate (0.3 %), β-caryophyllene (1 %) and cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (0.8 %). The mature opened flower contained β-caryophyllene (23.4 %), cis-3-hexenyl acetate (19.6 %), methyl benzoate (17.9 %), cis-3-hexenyl benzoate (16.8 %), 3-hexen-1-ol (1.3 %), cis-3-hexenyl tiglate (1.0 %),1-hexyl acetate (0.6 %), nonanal (0.4 %), decanal (0.5 %), cis-3-hexenyl isovalerate (0.3 %), phenylacetaldehyde (1.3 %), 2-hydroxy methyl benzoate (0.6 %), pentyl benzoate (0.4 %), hexyl benzoate (3.5 %), caryophyllene oxide (5.6 %), benzyl benzoate (1.7 %) and isoamyl salicylate (2.6 %). Transgenic plants expressing the linalool synthase gene from Clarkia breweri were generated, and from their leaves and flowers, linalool and its derivatives, cis– and trans-linalool oxide, were detected.

In an another study, 12 volatiles were identified as the main components of carnation flower fragrance signature (El-Ghorab et al. 2006). The major components of the volatiles found were phenyl ethyl alcohol, eugenol, hexyl benzoate, hexenyl benzoate (z), benzyl benzoate, benzoin, nootkatone, benzyl salicylate, m-cresyl phenyl acetate, hexadecanoic acid and eicosane.

Anthocyanin flower pigments of carnations had been reported for some pink, red, red-purple and mauve cultivars. Pelargonidin 3-O-glycoside was found in salmon and red cultivars, pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-glycoside in pink, cyanidin 3-O-glycoside in lavender and crimson and cyanidin 3,5-di-O-glycoside in lavender and magenta ones (Geissman and mehlquist 1947; Geissman et al. 1955). Cyanic carnation flowers (reds and pinks) that contained the factor R in homozygous or heterozygous conditioned were found to contain cyanidin glycosides; the homozygous recessive rr contained pelargonidin derivatives (Geissman et al. 1962). Kaempferol was clearly visible in all the red and pink genotypes and quercetin absent from these but visible in the Woburn sample. All the acyanic white genotypes contained kaempferol, but only one contained quercetin as well. Apigenin was not observed in these whites. Isosalipurposide was identified as the yellow pigment in carnation petals (Harborne 1966). Carnation genotypes with recessive (ii) alleles were found to produce yellow flowers, which contained the chalcone isosalipurposide (naringenin-chalcone-2′-glucoside) as the major petal pigment in the vacuole (Forkmann and Dangelmayr 1980). This naringenin-chalcone was the first product of the synthesis of the flavonoid skeleton and that only the conversion of naringenin-chalcone to naringenin furnishing the substrate for the further reactions to flavonol and anthocyanin. Based on the analysis of pigment composition, Onozaki et al. (1999) classified 13 white cultivars into three types: nearly pure white cultivar, ‘White Mind’ lacking flavonoid compounds in the petals, ‘Kaly’ and ‘White Barbara’ accumulating a large amount of naringenin derivatives and the normal white cultivars containing kaempferol derivatives as the major flavonoid. Ogata et al. (2004) reported that chalcone, which was synthesized from the condensation of p-coumaroyl-CoA and malonyl-CoAs by chalcone synthase, was converted to chalcone 2′-O-glucoside by UDP-Glc: chalcone glucosyltransferase (chalcone 2 -GT). Chalcone 2′-O-glucoside could then be transported and accumulated into vacuoles.

Incubation of crude extracts prepared from pink, magenta or white carnation flowering genotype with [2-¹⁴C]malonyl-CoA and 4-coumaroyl-CoA and co-chromatography on cellulose TLC plates with different solvent systems and enzymatic conversion yielded naringenin, naringenin chalcone, eriodictyol, eriodictyol chalcone, dihydrokaempferol and dihydroquercetin (Spribille and Forkmann 1982). In carnation genotypes with wild-type alleles (R), 4′- and 3′,4′-hydroxylated flavonoids were formed. Independent of the genetic state at the locus r, however, naringenin chalcone T-glucoside (isosalipurposide) was the only chalcone present in the flowers of genotypes which lack chalcone isomerase activity. Eriodictyol chalcone 2′-glucoside was not detected in either the flowers of genotypes with the dominant allele R or in the flowers of recessive (rr) genotypes. 3′-Hydroxylase activity could be readily detected in the flower extracts of all genotypes with the wild-type allele R but was completely deficient in the flower extracts of recessive (rr) genotypes. The gene r is known to control the hydroxylation pattern of the B-ring of anthocyanins. Recessive genotypes (rr) produced pelargonidin derivatives in the flowers, whereas cyanidin was formed under the influence of wild-type alleles R. The gene i is known to control the activity of chalcone isomerase Recessive genotypes (ii) lacked chalcone isomerase activity, and therefore, naringenin chalcone 2′-glucoside (isosalipurposide) was accumulated. In contrast chalcone isomerase activity being present in genotypes with the wild-type allele, higher oxidized flavonoids, including anthocyanins, were synthesized. The gene a interferes with the anthocyanin pathway after dihydroflavonol formation but before anthocyanin synthesis. Recessive genotypes (aa) produced white flowers containing flavonols. Thus, six carnation genotypes were established based on chemogenetic and enzymatic characteristics (Spribille and Forkmann 1982):

Malylated anthocyanins from carnation Dianthus caryophyllus flowers were confirmed as pelargonidin 3-O-(6-O-malyl-β-d-glucopyranoside) from red cv. ‘Scania’ and cyanidin 3-O-(6-O-malyl-β-d-glucopyranoside) from the purplish-red ‘Nina’ (Terahara and Yamaguchi 1986; Yamaguchi et al. 1988). The major anthocyanin in pink and red forms of Dianthus caryophyllus was identified as pelargonidin 3-malylglucoside (Terahara et al. 1986). Flowers of the red\mauve carnation cultivars ‘Kortina Chanel’ and ‘Purple Torres’ contained a macrocyclic anthocyanin pigment, a malylated cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside that readily converted by ring opening to yield cyanidin 3-O-(6-O-malyl glucoside)-5-O-glucoside (Bloor 1998). Cyclic-malyl anthocyanins 3, 5-di-O-(β-glucopyranosyl) pelargonidin 6″-O-4, 6‴-O–l-cyclic malate and a 3, 5-di-O-(β-glucopyranosyl) cyanidin 6″-O-4, 6‴-O–l-cyclic malate were identified from petals of deep pink and red-purple flower cultivars of Dianthus caryophyllus, respectively (Nakayama et al. 2000). White-flowered Sim carnations were found to contain mainly flavonol glycosides: kaempferol glycosides and naringenin glycosides and the genes dihydroflavonol 4-reductase and anthocyanidin synthase involved in flavonoid biosynthesis (Mato et al. 2000). A new macrocyclic anthocyanin, pelargonidin 3,5-di-O-β-glucoside(6″, 6‴-malyl diester), and 3-O-(6″-O-malylglucoside)-5-O-glucoside were found in ‘cyclamen’ red (or pink) colours in carnation flowers–cultivars Red Rox and eight others (Gonnet and Fenet 2000). Characterization of anthocyanins in the flowers of the modern carnation cv Eilat revealed that only the orange pelargonidin accumulated, due to a lack of both flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase and flavonoid3′-hydroxylase activities (Zuker et al. 2002).