Pumpkin flowers are typically considered a waste despite possessing a rich source of bioactive compounds with many nutritional advantages. By processing these underutilized resources into functional powders or extracts, the food industry can transform low‐value waste into high‐quality ingredients that enhance the nutritional and antioxidant profiles of food systems. Incorporation of functional additives into conventional dairy products has attracted a lot of attention. This study examines the impacts of adding selenium nanoparticles and pumpkin flower extract to yogurt, with a particular emphasis on how these additions affect the physicochemical qualities, rheological behavior, and microbiological traits of yogurt. Different yogurt formulations were made with varying amounts of pumpkin flower extract (Y 1 –Y 5 ) and pumpkin flower powder (P 1 –P 5 ), and Y 4 was optimized formulation. Higher doses of pumpkin flower extract resulted in a considerable increase in the TPC and TFC, with values ranging from 8.55/100 to 23.75 mg GAE/100 g and 2.57/100 to 78.98 mg RE/100 g, respectively. By using DPPH radical scavenging to assess antioxidant activity, the results increased as well, ranging from 10.02% to 87.98%. Higher extract concentrations caused a modest drop in the yogurt’s pH while increasing its acidity, which ranged from 0.62% to 0.73%. Rheological characteristics showed a rise in the consistency coefficient (19.52 ± 0.02 to 34.55 ± 0.03 N/m 2 ) and apparent viscosity (101.69 ± 0.16 to 132.99 ± 0.77 Pa·s) with notable variations between the samples. A qualitative study of potent bioactive compounds has been done through HR‐MS, which confirmed the presence of bioactive compounds, namely, rutin, quercetin, quercetin‐3β‐D‐glucoside, kaempferol, caffeic acid, and ferulic acid, lutein, and zeaxanthin. Selenium nanoparticles were added to the yogurt without having a negative impact on its physicochemical stability and microbiological safety. The findings point to a potential strategy for creating dairy products that promote health by adding pumpkin flower derivatives and selenium nanoparticles.
Rao et al. (Thu,) studied this question.