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Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Capparis 
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Review for this Journal spinosa as a Medicinal Plant

by Hongxia Zhang 1,*,†  and Zheng Feei Ma 2,*,†  Help
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1 Department of Food Science, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand

Article Menu 2 Department of Public Health, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215123, China Cite
* Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

† These two authors contributed equally to the manuscript as the first co-authors.
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Nutrients 2018, 10(2), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020116 SciProfiles
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Submission received: 29 November 2017 / Revised: 19 January 2018 / Accepted: 19 January 2018 /
Related Info Links Published: 24 January 2018
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(This article belongs to the Special Issue Effects of Polyphenol-Rich Foods on Human Health)
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Abstract
Article Views 11712
Over the past decades, there has been increasing attention on polyphenol-rich foods including fruits and
Citations 119 vegetables on human health. Polyphenols have been shown to possess some potential beneficial effects
on human health and they are widely found in foods consumed by populations worldwide. Capparis
spinosa (C. spinosa) is an important source of different secondary metabolites of interest to humankind.
The traditional therapeutic applications of C. spinosa have been reported in Ancient Romans. Numerous
bioactive phytochemical constituents have been isolated and identified from different parts (aerial parts,
Table of Contents  roots and seeds) of C. spinosa which are responsible alone or in combination for its various
pharmacological activities. Therefore, this paper is a review of publications on the phytochemical and
 Abstract pharmacological properties of C. spinosa. There is insufficient evidence to suggest that C. spinosa or its
 Introduction extracts are able to improve the biomarkers of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. However, these
 Phytochemical Properties of C. spinosa studies used different parts of C. spinosa plant, methods of preparation and types of solvents, which
 Pharmacological Effects of C. spinosa cause the evaluation of activity of C. spinosa difficult and involve quite heterogeneous data. There is also
 Conclusions evidence, although limited, to suggest benefits of C. spinosa in improving human health. Therefore, the
 Acknowledgments relationship between C. spinosa and improved human health outcomes requires further study.
 Author Contributions Keywords: Capparis spinosa; caper; cardiovascular disease; traditional medicine; flavonoids;
 Conflicts of Interest rutin
 References

1. Introduction

Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times as therapeutic agents for the management of
health and treatment of diseases because they possess health-promoting effects and contain bioactive
components [1]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) [2], 80% of the world’s populations
rely mainly on traditional medicine. In China, 30–50% of the overall medicinal consumption is estimated
from the preparations of traditional medicine [3]. Approximately 90% of the population in Germany
reported that they have used natural remedies for certain health purposes [2]. Therefore, there is
increasing use and popularity of traditional medicine in both the developing and industrialized countries
[4], demonstrating that the global market for traditional medicine continues to be strong. The international
market for herbal medicines has hit over $60 billion yearly and it continues to increase gradually [4].
Therefore, medicinal plants such as Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) continue to play a major role in
healthcare systems [4].
C. spinosa is one of the most important economical species in the Capparidaceae family which has a
wide range of diversity (i.e., about 40–50 genera and 700–900 species) [5]. Capparidaceae has been
known to be closely related to the family of the Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) that is rich in glucosinolates and
flavonoids [5]. C. spinosa is also known as Caper, wild watermelon (in China) [6], Cappero (in Italy), Alaf-
e-Mar (in Persian) [7] and Alcapparo (in Spain) [8]. C. spinosa is a dicotyledonous perennial shrub which
can grow up to 1 m high and has extensive root systems [9]. It is native to the Mediterranean basin and
widely distributed from Morroco to Crimea, Armernia, Iran [10]. Several countries such as Greece, Italy,
Spain and Turkey have widely produced C. spinosa [11]. For example, Spain and Turkey produce about
1000 and 4500 tonnes of C. spinosa a year, respectively [8].
Few articles [12,13] have reviewed some of the chemical compounds and health benefits of C.
spinosa in different aspects including its potential for sustainability. Therefore, the aim of our work was to
summarise and review the phytochemical of C. spinosa including aerial parts, roots and seeds with
reference to their pharmacological activity shown in animal and human studies. In addition, our work has
also added significantly to the current understanding of the bioactive compounds isolated from the roots
and seeds of C. spinosa, which has not been adequately covered in the previous literature reviews.
1.1. Search Strategy
An electronic literature search was conducted using Cochrane Library, PubMed, Medline (OvidSP)
and Google Scholar until October 2017. Additional references were hand-searched. Search terms
included combinations of the following using Boolean markers: Capparis spinosa, C. spinosa, Capparis,
caper, phytochemical, pharmacological and antioxidant. The search was restricted to English language
publications that addressed the phytochemical constituents and/or pharmacological properties of C.
spinosa.
1.2. Taxonomic Revision of Genus Capparis
There are 813 plant name records that matched Capparis in the plant database ‘The Plant List’ (at
http://www.theplantlist.org). When C. spinosa was searched in the same database, 22 plant name
records were found. There have been 250 different species in the genus of Capparis which are
recognized morphologically. However, the use of morphological markers of the Capparis species has its
limitations in defining the subspecies and varieties because of the free hybridization of different Capparis
species and the presence of their intermediate forms [14]. Therefore, the classification of Capparis
remains to be very ambiguous and controversial [15]. Aichi-Yousfi et al. [16] demonstrated that the use of
amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was efficient to make definitive discrimination
among the genetic diversity and relationship between various species of Capparis. The authors used
three primer combinations of AFLP markers to genotype 213 Capparis accessions belonging to six
Tunisian Capparis species [16].
1.3. Cultivation of C. spinosa
C. spinosa which is an aromatic plant is usually cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions [10]. The
most common propagation of C. spinosa is vegetative cuttings [10]. It can flourish under dry hot
conditions in either well-drained or poor soils. In addition, C. spinosa is salt tolerant and resistant to
drought [17]. Although C. spinosa can be grown in a wide range of environmental conditions, it is
generally grown on sandy loam soils with low alkalinity [18]. It grows and flowers from May to October
covering the summer drought [19]. Since it has deep, extensive root systems and can be grown in harsh
environments, it has been recommended for the prevention of land degradation and soil erosion control
[17].
1.4. Traditional Uses of C. spinosa
Different parts of C. spinosa including fruits and roots have been used as a traditional herbal remedy
since ancient times for its beneficial effects on human diseases [20]. Ancient Egypt and Arab consumed
the roots of C. spinosa to treat liver and kidney diseases; Ancient Romans used C. spinosa for the
treatment of paralysis; Moroccans used C. spinosa to treat diabetes [8]. In the Northern areas of Pakistan,
the root barks of C. spinosa have been used to treat splenomegaly, mental disorders and tubercular
glands [21]. In China, C. spinosa has been used in traditional Uighur Medicine for the treatment of
rheumatoid arthritis and gout [6]. In Iran, C. spinosa is used to treat hemorrhoids and gout [22]. Table 1
shows the main traditional uses of C. spinosa used to ease symptoms and treat diseases.

Table 1. Main traditional uses of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) to ease symptoms and treat
diseases.

2. Phytochemical Properties of C. spinosa

Since C. spinosa has several beneficial health effects on human diseases, the chemical and
bioactive components of C. spinosa have been extensively investigated and reported by numerous
analytical studies [11,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36]. Table 2 demonstrates the important
constituents isolated from C. spinosa. These studies have focused on the bioactive compounds of
different parts of C. spinosa such as leaves [27,37], buds [11], fruits [23,24,25,26], roots [31,32,33] and
seeds [34,35,36]. In general, C. spinosa has a wide range of bioactive compounds such as alkaloids,
flavonoids, streroids, terpenoids and tocopherols [38].

Table 2. Summary of some important constituents isolated from C. spinosa.

Since C. spinosa is rich in flavonoids, many studies have identified and quantified flavonoids found in
C. spinosa. Flavonoid compounds such as rutin and quercertin are detected in C. spinosa [39].
Flavonoids have received considerable attention for their positive effects on health because of their anti-
oxidative property [40]. Flavonoids are hydroxylated phenolic compounds and are found in plants [39].
Flavonoids have a 15-carbon skeleton, which consists of two benzene rings and a heterocyclic pyrane
ring [41]. Flavonoids can be divided into several classes based on their structures such as flavones,
flavonols, flavanones, isoflavonoids and others [41]. The consumption of flavonoids is suggested to
reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and promote human health [41]. Rutin strengthens
capillaries and inhibit platelet clump formation in the blood vessels due to its high radical scavenging and
antioxidant properties [42]. In addition, rutin reduces low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level, which
is associated with improve CVD risk biomarkers [43]. Quercetin has been linked with a reduced risk of
CVD because of its anti-hypertensive and anti-platelet aggregating properties [44].
2.1. Aerial Parts
Most of the isolation and identification of alkaloids and related compounds have been focused on the
fruits of C. spinosa. A study by Fu et al. [23] reported that the fruits of C. spinosa were shown to contain
Cappariloside A, stachydrin, hypoxanthine and uracil. Another study by Çaliş et al. [25] reported that two
glucose-containing 1H-indole-3-acetonitrile compounds, 1H-indole-3-acetonitrile 4-O-β-(6′-O-β-
glucopyranosyl)-glucopyranoside and 1H-indole-3-acetonitrile 4-O-β-glucopyranoside were identified from
mature fruits of C. spinosa using spectroscopic methods. In addition, capparine A, capparine B, flazin,
guanosine, 1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde, 4-hydroxy-1H-indole-3-carboxaldehyde apigenin, kaempferol
and thevetiaflavone were identified in the fruits of C. spinosa [26]. There are also other new identified
alkaloids including capparisine A, capparisine B, capparisine C that were also isolated from the fruits of C.
spinosa [45]. Tetrahydroquinoline acid was isolated from the fruits and stems of C. spinosa using column
chromatorgraphy [46].
Rodrigo et al. [28] reported that fresh C. spinosa were shown to contain rutin, kaempferol-3-
glucoside, kaempferol-3 rutinoside and kaempferol-3-rhamnorutinoside. Of these flavonoids, rutin was the
most abundant [28]. Ramezani et al. [27] reported that the content of rutin in fruits, flowers and leaves of
C. spinosa was 6.03, 43.72 and 61.09 mg/100 g of dried powder, respectively. It is suggested that rutin
may be beneficial to health including cardio-protective versatile, cholesterol-lowering, anti-cancer and
anti-inflammatory.
A study by Siracusa et al. [29] reported that rutin, kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside and isorhamnetin 3-O-
rutinoside were isolated from wild-grown C. spinosa using High-Performance Liquid
Chromatography/Ultraviolet–Visible-Diode Array Spectroscopy/Electrospray Ionization-Mass
Spectrometry (HPLC/UV-Vis-DAD/ESI-MS). The authors reported that about half of the total amount of
phenolic compounds was rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside) followed by kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside [29].
In addition, other flavonoids such as quercetin 3-O-glucoside, quercetin 3-O-glucoside-7-O-
rhamnoside, quercetin 3-O-[6′′′-α-L-rhamnosyl-6′′-β-D-glucosyl]-β-D-glucoside were also identified in the
aerial parts of C. spinosa [30]. Another study by Zhou et al. [47] reported that ginkgetin, isoginkgetin,
sakuranetin, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and quercetin-3-O-rutinoside were isolated in fruits of C. spinosa.
The authors also reported that ginkgetin, isoginkgetin and sakuranetin were the first time to be identified
in fruits of C. spinosa [47]. It is suggested that ginkgetin and isoginkgetin may have anti-inflammatory and
neuroprotective effects. A study by Sharaf et al. [48] demonstrated that kaempferol-3-rutinoside,
quercetin-3-rutinoside, quercetin-7-rutinoside, quercetin 3-glucoside-7-rhamnoside were isolated in stems
and leaves of C. spinosa.
Afsharypuor et al. [31] reported that leaves and ripe fruits of C. spinosa contained the glucosinolates
degradation products which were methyl, isopropyl and set-butyl isothiocyanates. Glucosinolates are
secondary plant metabolites that are of pharmacological interest because they may have a role in the
prevention of diseases and reducing the risk of carcinogenesis. Similarly, Çaliş et al. [25] also reported
that indole-3 acetonitrile glycosides was detected in fruits of C. spinosa.
Some studies also investigated the flavonoids in flower buds of C. spinosa [11,49]. Inocencio et al.
[11] used HPLC coupled with a diode-array detector to isolate kaempferol 3-rhamnosyl-rutinoside,
kaempferol 3-rutinoside and quercetin 3-rutinoside from the flower buds of C. spinosa. The authors
reported that rutin (quercetin-3-O-rutinoside) was the most abundant compound followed by kaempferol
3-rutinoside [11]. Also, they found that 10 g of C. spinosa would provide approximately 65 mg of flavonoid
glycosides [11]. The main glucosinolates in shoots and buds of C. spinosa was glucocapparin, which
contributed 90% of the total glucosinolates [49]. It is suggested that the composition of glucosinolates
may vary according to the bud size of C. spinosa.
Other classes of compounds such as benzofuranone enantiomers 2-(4-hydroxy-2-oxo-2,3-
dihydrobenzofuran-3-yl)acetonitrile were also isolated from the stems and fruits of C. spinosa using
column chromatography [46]. Two new (6S)-hydroxy-3-oxo-α-ionol glucosides and a prenyl glucoside
were isolated from the mature fruits of C. spinosa using chromatographic methods [24]. In addition, p-
hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid, protocatechuric acid, butanedioic acid, uracil, uridine and daucosterol
were isolated from fruit of of C. spinosa using chromatographic methods [50]. The p-methoxy benzoic
acid was isolated and identified from the aerial parts of C. spinosa using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
(NMR) spectroscopy [51].
In a study investigating the spontaneous volatile emission of different aerial parts of C. spinosa,
Ascrizzi et al. [52] reported that 178 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined by headspace
solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography (GC)/MS. The major VOCs
emitted by leaves of C. spinosa were germacrene D (20%) and decanal (15%) [52]. The flower bud of C.
spinosa mainly emitted isopropyl tetradecanoate (26%), (E)-nerolidol (17%) and hexahydrofarnesyl
acetone (11%) [52]. For the fruits of C. spinosa, the majority of the VOCs were β-caryophyllene (40%), α-
guaiene (12%), bicyclogermacrene (11%) and macrene B (8%) [52].
2.2. Roots
Limited studies have been focused on the isolation and identification of bioactive compounds from
the roots of C. spinosa. Similar to leaves and fruits of C. spinosa, the roots of C. spinosa were shown to
contain glucosinolates degradation products including methyl, isopropyl and set-butyl isothiocyanates
[31]. Fu et al. [53] isolated several new spermidine alkaloids (i.e., capparispine, cadabicine 26-O-β-D-
glucoside and capparispine 26-O-β-D-glucoside) from the roots of C. spinosa and used NMR
spectroscopy to establish their structures. Stachydrine [32] and 3-hydroxy-7-methoxy-2-methyl-4H-1,4-
benzoxazine-4-carbaldehyde [33] were also determined from the roots of C. spinosa using proton (1H)
NMR.
2.3. Seeds
Ascrizzi et al. [52] reported that the seeds of C. spinosa emitted 99% of the total emission profile
were sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with the most abundant compounds being β-caryophyllene (45%)
followed by α-guaiene (15%), bicyclogermacrene (12%) and germacrene B (8%).
Similar to roots of C. spinosa, less attention has been devoted to the seeds of C. spinosa. The total
content of glucosinolates in seeds of C. spinosa (dry weight basis) ranged from 42.6 to 88.9 µmol/g and
more than 95% of the total amount of glucosinolates was glucocapperin [36], which is similar to main
glucosinolates in shoots and buds of C. spinosa. The seeds of C. spinosa are also a potential important
source of oils for industrial, nutritional and pharmaceutical purposes. The oil content of C. spinosa seeds
ranged from 27 to 38 g/100 g [36]. Three studies [34,35,36] have shown that the seeds of C. spinosa
contained two major unsaturated fatty acids, linoleic acid (25–51%) and oleic acid (15–37%), which can
improve cardiovascular health. In addition, the seed oils of C. spinosa also contain other fatty acids such
as myristic acid (1%), stearic acid (3%), palmitic acid (12%), palmitoleic acid (4%), cis-vaccenic acid
(19%), linolenic acid (1%), behenic acid (1%), eicosenoic acid (<1%), eicosanoic acid (1%) and lignoceric
acid (<1%) [36].
Sterols such as stigmasterol, sitosterol, campesterol and avenasterol were also determined from the
seed oils of C. spinosa [36]. The total amount of sterols in the seed oils of C. spinosa ranged from 4962 to
10,008 mg/kg. In addition, the seed oils of C. spinosa are also rich in tocopherols with γ- and δ-
tocopherols as the major vitamin E active compounds [36]. The total amount of tocopherols in the seed
oils of C. spinosa ranged from 249 to 1985 mg/100 g [36]. Citrostadienol, cycloartanol, gramisterol,
hexadecanol, octadecanol, β-amyrin and tetracosanol were also determined from the seeds of C. spinosa
[36].

3. Pharmacological Effects of C. spinosa

Although many studies using various parts of C. spinosa have reported diverse pharmacological
activities including anti-diabetic and anti-hypertensive, there is still no conclusive information regarding
the association between C. spinosa and its health benefits. This is because only a very few studies that
involved human subjects examined the effect of C. spinosa consumption on human health. Similar to
other plants [54,55], although there exists literature related to the health benefits of C. spinosa, studies
often infer a causal correlation between a bioactive substance of C. spinosa, and the observe health
outcomes. This approach is likely to be an oversimplification of the complex mechanisms in the body that
will eventually lead to the observed health outcomes. Therefore, the conclusions of such studies on the
effects of changes in the dietary intake should be interpreted with caution because the health outcomes
may not be attributed to the action of a single bioactive substance [56]. Table 3 illustrates major
pharmacological effect of C. spinosa.

Table 3. Overview on major pharmacological effects of C. Spinosa.

3.1. Anti-Diabetic
In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 54 type 2 diabetic patients, Huseini
et al. [59] reported that patients who took 1200 mg C. spinosa fruit extracts daily for 2 months had a
significantly lower level of glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose than the control group (p =
0.043 and 0.037, respectively). The findings of their study demonstrated an improvement in
hypertriglyceridemia and hyperglycemia in diabetic patients [59]. In addition, no renal and hepatic adverse
events were reported in the patients [59]. The possible mechanism is that C. spinosa decreases the rate
of carbohydrate absorption and exert its postprandial hypoglycemic effect in the gastrointestinal tract [58].
Therefore, the consumption of C. spinosa may be beneficial and safe for controlling and treating blood
glucose levels in diabetic patients.
3.2. Anti-Obesity
Eddouks et al. [57] demonstrated that there was a significant weight loss in diabetic rats fed with the
aqueous extract of powdered fruits of C. spinosa (20 mg/kg) after 2 weeks (p < 0.01). Another study by
Lemhadri et al. [58] reported that repeated oral administration of aqueous extracts of C. spinosa was
associated with a significant loss of body weight in high fat diet-fed mice after 2 weeks (p < 0.01).
Therefore, it is suggested that C. spinosa may be used for weight loss management. However, further
studies are needed to confirm such findings.
3.3. Cholesterol-Lowering
C. spinosa has been reported to be associated with improved plasma lipid parameters. Huseini et al.
[59] reported a significant decrease in the triglyceride level of type 2 diabetic patients who were
supplemented with 1200 mg C. spinosa fruit extracts daily for 2 months (p = 0.029). The possible
mechanism for the cholesterol-lowering effect of C. spinosa is that C. spinosa decreases the activity of 3-
hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA reductase), which plays an important role in
the biosynthesis of cholesterol [69]. Therefore, C. spinosa may be useful for the treatment of fatty liver
disease and metabolic syndrome because it plays an important role in the inhibition of gluconeogenesis in
liver.
3.4. Anti-Hypertensive
C. spinosa has the potential to be used for the treatment of hypertension. In a study of spontaneously
hypertensive rats, Ali et al. [61] reported that when the aqueous extract of powdered fruits of C. spinosa
(150 mg/kg) was administered for 20 days, the systolic blood pressure was significantly decreased after 8
days (p < 0.05), 12 days (p < 0.01) and 16 days (p < 0.001). In addition, there was also a significant
increase in the concentration of urinary sodium (p < 0.001), potassium (p < 0.001) and chloride (p <
0.001) after 20 days [61]. No change in heart rate was observed during the period. In addition, there was
also no difference in the activity of plasma angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and renin after 20 days
[61]. It is suggested that C. spinosa decreases blood pressure by increasing the excretion of renal
electrolytes and inhibiting the ACE activity. The inhibition of ACE activity is associated with a decrease in
blood pressure [70]. Therefore, C. spinosa may play an important in the reduction of blood pressure.
3.5. Anti-Microbial
In a study investigating the antibacterial activity of C. spinosa, Boga et al. [33] reported that the
growth rate of Deinococcus radiophilus (D. radiophilus) was significantly inhibited by the addition of
aqueous extracts from roots of C. spinosa as compared to the control. However, no inhibition was shown
on the growth rate of Escherichia coli (E. coli) by the addition of aqueous extracts from roots of C. spinosa
[33].
Another study by Mahboubi and Mahboubi [22] evaluated the antimicrobial activity of aqueous,
ethanolic, ethyl acetate and methanolic extracts of C. spinosa roots and fruits. The authors reported that
the aqueous extracts of C. spinosa roots exhibited a higher antimicrobial activity against a wide range of
microorganisms than that of fruit aqueous extracts of C. spinosa fruits [22]. The authors demonstrated
that the aqueous extracts from roots of C. spinosa possessed inhibitory effect against bacteria and fungi
including Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (S. saprophyticus),
Staphylococcus epidermidis (S. epidermidis), Streptococcus pyogenes (S. pyogenes), Streptococcus
mutans (S. mutans), E. coli, Salmonella typhimurium (S. typhimurium), Shigella dysenteriae (S.
dysenteriae), Shigella flexneri (S. flexneri), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Bacillus subtilis (B.
subtilis), Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), Candida albicans (C. albicans), Candida glabrata (C. glabrata),
Aspergillus flavus (A. flavus), Aspergillus parasiticus (A. parasiticus) and Aspergillus niger (A. niger) [22].
Gull et al. [62] reported that the methanolic extracts of C. spinosa stem barks and shoots had the
greatest antibacterial activity against B. subtilis with growth inhibition zones of 26.8 mm and 24.6 mm,
respectively. While the methanolic extracts of C. spinosa fruits had the highest growth inhibition zones
(24.9 mm) against Pasteurella multocida (P. multocida) followed by B. subtilis (23.9 mm), E. coli (20.9
mm) and S. aureus (17.7 mm) [62]. On the other hand, the highest antibacterial activity of the methanolic
extracts of C. spinosa flowers and roots was observed against E. coli with growth inhibition zones of 26.5
mm and 23.9 mm, respectively [62]. In addition, polysaccharides of C. spinosa leaves have been
suggested to exhibit antimicrobial activity. Mazarei et al. [71] reported that polysaccharides of C. spinosa
leaves had a higher antimicrobial activity against E. coli, S. dysenteriae and Salmonella typhi (S. typhi).
Mahasneh [72] reported that butanol extract of C. spinosa showed a moderate to good antifungal
activity against C. albicans and A. flavus. In addition, ethanol extracts of C. spinosa exhibited weak
cytotoxicity against Helicobactor pylori (H. pylori) isolates [63]. The infection of H. pylori is associated with
several gastroduodenal diseases such as gastric cancer [73]. It is suggested that the method of preparing
extracts and the type of solvent used may affect the microbial activity of C. spinosa.
3.6. Anti-Inflammatory
In an in vivo mouse model, El Azhary et al. [64] reported that Swiss albino mice treated with C.
spinosa leaf extracts had a significantly reduced edema than control, demonstrating the anti-inflammatory
activity of C. spinosa. In addition, the authors also found that C. spinosa had significantly decreased the
dermis thickness and immune cell infiltration in the inflammatory site. Similarly, Moutia et al. [65] reported
that C. spinosa leaf extract was shown to exhibit anti-inflammatory activity in vitro on human peripheral
blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from healthy subjects. The authors also found that PBMC
treated with the aqueous fraction of C. spinosa leaf extract had a significant increase in interleukin (IL)-4
gene expression (an anti-inflammatory cytokine) and a significant decrease in IL-17 gene expression (pro-
inflammatory cytokine) [65]. Therefore, these studies suggested that C. spinosa leaf extracts exhibit anti-
inflammatory activity by inhibiting the pro-inflammatory cytokines expression and immune cell infiltration
[64,65].
C. spinosa root extracts were reported to relieve pain in complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA)-induced
rheumatoid arthritis and mono-iodoacetate (MIA)-induced osteoarthritis male Sprague-Dawley rats [66]. It
is suggested that the pain reliever effect of C. spinosa roots could be due to the presence of spermidine
alkaloids which have anti-inflammatory effects [66]. Similarly, the lyophilised methanolic extracts from
flowering buds of C. spinosa was also reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory effect by reducing the
production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandins (PGE2) induced by IL-
1β on human chondrocytes [74]. These findings were consistent with another study by Feng et al. [75]
who demonstrated that the fraction eluted by ethanol-water (50:50, v/v) from C. spinosa fruits was shown
to exhibit the most significant anti-arthritic response in male Wistar rats, providing additional evidence that
C. spinosa possesses anti-inflammatory effects.
Similarly, C. spinosa exhibited anti-inflammatory activity to suppress cytokine production of dendritic
cells (DC), induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In a study investigating the effect of C. spinosa fruit
ethanol extracts on the maturation of mouse bone marrow-derived DC Hamuti et al. [67] reported that
different types of C. spinosa extracts exhibited different effects on the maturation of DC. DC is the key
regulator in many aspects in homeostasis of immune system [76] and inflammatory skin disorders [77].
These different types of C. spinosa extracts were labelled as C. spinosa extract (CSE) 2 water (W), CSE
middle-layered isolated (M) W, CSE3W, CSE2 dimethyl sulfoxide (D), CSEMD and CSE3D according to
their methods of preparation which were either dissolving in water or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at a
concentration of 200 mg/mL. The authors reported that CSEMD and CSEMW dose-dependently
increased the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 40, CD80 and CD86 [67]. CSE2W was shown
to significantly increase the expression of CD40 but not CD80 [67]. Although CSE3D and CSE3W had
significantly inhibited the secretions of pro-inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-12p40, IL-6 and
tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-γ induced by LPS, CSE3D had a higher inhibitory activity than CSE3W [67].
3.7. Antihepatotoxic
A study by Gadgoli and Mishra [51] evaluated the effects of C. spinosa on the antihepatotoxic on rats
against paracetamol and carbontetrachloride induced toxicity in vivo. In addition, the authors also
investigated the effects of C. spinosa on galactosamine and thioacetamide induced toxicities in vitro [51].
In their study, methanol soluble fraction of the aqueous extract of aerial parts of C. spinosa was reported
to exhibit significant reductions in serum glutamyl pyruvate transaminase (SGPT), serum glutamyl
oxalacetate transaminase (SGOT), alkaline phosphatase and total bilirubin in paracetamol and
carbontetrachloride induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats of Wistar strain [51]. In addition, the authors also
reported that aerial parts of C. spinosa showed significant anti-hepatotoxic activity in galactosamine and
thioacetamide induced hepatotoxicity in isolated rat hepatocytes [51].
Kazemian et al. [68] reported that both groups of diabetic rats receiving 0.2 g/kg and 0.4 g/kg of
hydroalcoholic extract of C. spinosa had a significant reduction of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and
alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (p < 0.05 for both groups) after 4 weeks of treatment. Therefore, it is
suggested that C. spinosa extract does not cause any toxic effect on the liver [68].
3.8. Other Pharmacological Properties
C. spinosa also exhibits potential protective effects against cognitive impairment. In a study
investigating the effect of C. spinosa on the learning and memory damage induced by chronic
administration of LPS (175 µg/kg) in young male Sprague-Dawley rats, Goel et al. [78] reported that the
aqueous extract of C. spinosa buds had significantly reduced the neurodegeneration in the first region in
the hippocampal circuit (CA1) region of hippocampus, suggesting that C. spinosa could be used to treat
cognitive disorders.
In addition, another study by Mohebali et al. [79] reported that the expression of β-secretase enzyme
(BACE)-1, presenilin protein (PSEN)-1 and PSEN-2 and amyloid precursor protein (APP) genes were
significantly down regulated in amyloidogenic related genes in amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide-injected Wister
albino rats treated with hydroalcoholic extracts of C. spinosa leaves and fruits as compared to the control
group. Another study by Turgut et al. [80] reported that the extracts of C. spinosa seeds significantly
protected against the damage of DNA bands and attenuated cognitive impairment induced by D-galactose
in male, Bagg albino, laboratory-bred strain of the House Mouse (BALB/c) mice. Chronic
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease are associated with the aggregation and
misfolding of proteins. The accumulation of Aβ peptide is the key protein involved in the development of
Alzheimer’s disease and the accumulation of Aβ peptide can be caused by malfunction in β- and γ-
secretase enzymes. BACE is encoded by BACE-1; γ-secretase enzyme is encoded by PSEN-1 and
PSEN-2 [81].
C. spinosa also exhibits inhibitory effects on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 reverse
transcriptase [82]. Lam and Ng [82] isolated a protein with an N-terminal amino acid sequence from the
seeds of C. spinosa that inhibited HIV-1 reverse transcriptase. The protein exhibited some similarly to
imidazoleglycerol phosphate synthase [82]. Lam and Ng [82] reported that the protein possessed HIV-1
reverse transcriptase inhibitory activity with the half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 0.23 µM. It
is suggested that the inhibition is due to the protein-protein interaction which causes homologous
retroviral reverse transcriptase to be inhibited by HIV-protease [82].
3.9. Adverse Effects
Currently, the consumption of C. spinosa is not associated with any adverse effects according to the
published literature, providing evidence that C. spinosa is safe to consume [83].

4. Conclusions

A literature review has highlighted that C. spinosa exhibits important pharmacological effects
because C. spinosa is rich in many bioactive compounds including flavonoids. Therefore, given the few
clinical studies cited, it is very risky to highlight the potential role of C. spinosa on treatment such as
diabetes, hypertension and obesity. This suggests that there are many opportunities for the food and
healthcare industry to explore the health benefits of C. spinosa because there is a potential growth market
for C. spinosa. However, the majority of the studies that reported beneficial effects of C. spinosa on health
are animal-based studies. Moreover, these studies used different parts of C. spinosa plant, types of
solvents and methods of preparation, which cause the evaluation of activity of C. spinosa difficult. In
addition, these studies involve quite heterogeneous data.
Therefore, future prospective research should screen for individual polyphenol constituents that
possess health-promoting properties in C. spinosa. This is because a cause-effect relationship between
C. spinosa and its health effects can only be established when the composition of C. spinosa is properly
characterised and standardised. In addition, there is limited evidence of randomized controlled trials on
humans to support such health beneficial effects of C. spinosa when compared to other plants such as
walnuts that have high economic interests to the food industry. The underlying mechanism influencing
human health by the consumption of C. spinosa still remains unclear. The effect of short- and long-term
consumption of C. spinosa on human health therefore needs to be further evaluated. Furthermore, the
role of the gut microbiota in the degradation of polyphenolic compounds present in the plant has not been
considered. This aspect should be put forward in the perspectives [84].

Acknowledgments

Zheng Feei Ma would like to thank Peng Keong Ma, Siew Poh Tan and Zheng Xiong Ma for their
active encouragement and support of this work. The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Author Contributions

Z.F.M. wrote the first draft of the paper. Z.F.M and H.Z. revised the paper.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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MDPI and ACS Style
Zhang, H.; Ma, Z.F. Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Capparis spinosa as a Medicinal
Plant. Nutrients 2018, 10, 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020116

AMA Style
Zhang H, Ma ZF. Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Capparis spinosa as a Medicinal
Plant. Nutrients. 2018; 10(2):116. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020116

Chicago/Turabian Style
Zhang, Hongxia, and Zheng Feei Ma. 2018. "Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Capparis
spinosa as a Medicinal Plant" Nutrients 10, no. 2: 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10020116

APA Style
Zhang, H., & Ma, Z. F. (2018). Phytochemical and Pharmacological Properties of Capparis spinosa as a