Capparis sepiaria (PROTA)

Plant Resources of Tropical Africa Introduction

List of species

General importance
Geographic coverage Africa
Geographic coverage World
Fruit
Vegetable
Spice / condiment
Carbohydrate / starch
Medicinal
Forage / feed
Food security
Climate change

Capparis sepiaria L.

distribution in Africa (wild)

Protologue: Syst. nat. ed. 10, 2: 1071 (1759).

Family: Capparaceae

Chromosome number: 40

Synonyms

• Capparis corymbosa auct. non Lam.

Vernacular names

• Wild caper-bush (En).

Origin and geographic distribution

Capparis sepiaria is extremely widespread in tropical Asia, northern Australia and tropical Africa, where it occurs from Senegal eastward to Eritrea and Ethiopia and southward to northern South Africa. It also occurs in Madagascar.

Uses

In Tanzania root powder is taken in porridge or as tea to treat anthrax and cancer; the root bark is used against fever and stomach complaints. In Kenya root decoctions are inhaled to treat pain in the chest, whereas in South Africa they are given to livestock to treat gall bladder problems. In West Africa root powder is used to treat wounds and against ticks, and in Nigeria as a hunting poison, whereas roots are chewed as a remedy against toothache. In West Africa and Madagascar the fruit is considered aphrodisiac. In tropical Asia, Capparis sepiaria is used to treat fever, liver disorders and diarrhoea, and as alterative and tonic.

In West Africa the leaves are occasionally eaten as a vegetable in soups, although they have also been reported to be toxic. In Burkina Faso leaves and flowers are used in the preparation of sauces. The fruits are edible, although the pulp has an ether flavour and the skin is bitter. Young fruits are sometimes cooked in soup. In Madagascar fruits and seeds are eaten and used as condiment. The wood serves as firewood. The foliage is browsed by goats.

Production and international trade

In tropical Africa dried roots are sometimes sold in local markets.

Properties

In India a preliminary phytochemical analysis of the leaves revealed the presence of reducing sugars, flavonoids, steroids, tannins, alkaloids, gums, resins, amino acids, proteins and anthraquinones. Also in India the pharmacological activity of Capparis sepiaria has been studied in several tests. Ethanolic stem extracts exhibited pronounced anti-inflammatory activity as well as antibacterial activity against several gastro-intestinal pathogens. Ethanolic leaf extracts showed hypoglycaemic effect in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Significant hepatoprotective effects of ethanolic leaf extracts were found in rats with carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity. In tests with mice with Ehrlich ascites carcinoma, methanolic bark extracts exhibited significant antitumour activity. However, tests with plants from Tanzania did not show in-vitro cytotoxic activity of root extracts against human cancer cell lines. Capparis sepiaria extracts have significant and dose dependent anthelmintic activity. Toxicity studies did not show serious toxic effects.

The approximate composition of leaves per 100 g edible portion is: water 72 g, energy 350 kJ (84 kcal), protein 8.4 g, fat 1.2 g, carbohydrate 15 g, fibre 4.1 g, Ca 926 mg, P 30 mg and Fe 5.7 mg.

Description

Evergreen, strongly branched, spiny shrub up to 6 m tall, often with scandent stems up to 10 m long; bark surface scaly, dark grey, inner bark pale red; twigs glabrous to short-hairy. Leaves arranged spirally, simple and entire; stipules developing into paired recurved spines up to 4(–6) mm long; petiole up to 0.5 cm long; blade elliptical to oblong-ovate or lanceolate, 3–7.5 (–11) cm × 1–2.5(–4) cm, cuneate to obtuse or rounded at base, rounded or notched at apex, papery to thin-leathery, short-hairy at both surfaces but sometimes becoming glabrous, pinnately veined with 4–9(–11) pairs of lateral veins. Inflorescence a short terminal raceme, often umbel-like, slightly hairy, up to 20-flowered, sometimes flowers solitary in upper leaf axils. Flowers bisexual, slightly zygomorphic, 4-merous; pedicel 0.5–2.5 cm long; sepals free, boat-shaped, 5–7 mm long, slightly unequal, glabrous to slightly hairy; petals free, oblong to narrowly obovate, nearly equal, 0.5–1 cm long, white to pinkish white; stamens 30–50, free, 0.5–1.5 cm long, whitish; ovary superior, long-stalked, ovoid to ellipsoid, glabrous, 1-celled, stigma small, sessile. Fruit a distinctly stalked, globose berry 1–1.5(–2) cm in diameter, smooth, red to dark purple, with juicy, orange to reddish pulp, usually 1–2-seeded. Seeds ovoid to kidney-shaped, 0.5–1 cm long, slightly compressed, reddish brown.

Other botanical information

Capparis sepiaria is variable and several varieties have been distinguished.

Capparis has been considered to comprise approximately 250 species and to occur in all tropical and subtropical regions. However, the genus was found to be polyphyletic, and most species from tropical America have been transferred to separate genera. About 12 species are found in mainland tropical Africa. Several other Capparis spp. are used in traditional medicine in tropical Africa. Some of these are more important for their edible fruits (Capparis decidua (Forssk.) Edgew., Capparis erythrocarpos Isert, Capparis hereroensis Schinz) or as spice and condiment (Capparis spinosa L.).

Capparis brassii

Capparis brassii DC. (synonym: Capparis thonningii Schum.) is a scandent shrub occurring in bushland and forest edges in West Africa from Sierra Leone to Nigeria, but also in Mozambique. In Nigeria the root bark is used to treat tuberculosis and in Mozambique root decoctions are taken to treat cough. Leaf decoctions and crushed leaves are applied to tumours and leaf sap to sores, ulcers, swellings and snakebites. Fruit preparations are taken against tapeworm. Root bark extracts showed activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis at a concentration of 1250 μg/ml. Methanolic leaf extracts exhibited significant antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus.

Capparis cartilaginea

Capparis cartilaginea Decne. is a scandent shrub occurring in dry bushland from Chad eastward to Somalia and southward to Tanzania, but it also occurs in the Seychelles and from Arabia and the Middle East to Pakistan and India. In tropical Africa leaves are used as a laxative. Leaf decoctions and infusions are applied to eye infections and root sap to skin diseases and ulcers. In Pakistan and India Capparis cartilaginea is used in the treatment of rheumatism, gout, paralysis and tuberculosis, and as diuretic, tonic, expectorant, anthelmintic and emmenagogue. The sweet-smelling, juicy fruit pulp is edible. In Pakistan and India tests showed antibacterial, hypotensive and spasmolytic activities of ethanolic extracts.

Capparis chrysomeia

Capparis chrysomeia Bojer is a scandent shrub up to 4 m tall occurring in dry forest and thickets in Madagascar, where it is widespread. Root and leaf decoctions are applied to the nose to treat headache, and infusions of flowering twigs are taken to treat fever. Chloroform extracts of the aerial parts showed slight antiplasmodial activity.

Capparis viminea

Capparis viminea Hook.f. & Thomson ex Oliv. is a scandent shrub occurring in forest, thickets and bushland from Benin and Nigeria eastward to Kenya and southward to Angola and Mozambique. In Tanzania pounded and boiled bark is applied to abscesses, and leaf sap is taken to treat epilepsy.

Growth and development

In West Africa Capparis sepiaria flowers in the second half of the dry season, in Cameroon in the rainy season from April to July, and in Madagascar in September–October. Fruits ripen about 3 months after flowering. In southern Africa large herbivores such as buffalo, kudu and rhinoceros commonly feed on the foliage in the dry season. The fruits are eaten by birds.

Ecology

Capparis sepiaria occurs in open dry forest, deciduous bushland and wooded savanna, in East Africa up to 2200 m altitude, often on stony or gravelly soil, but also on sandy or clayey soils. It is common on termite mounds, and in regularly burned and extensively grazed savanna in Burkina Faso Capparis sepiaria is almost exclusively found on termite mounds.

Propagation and planting

Capparis sepiaria is propagated by seeds.

Genetic resources

Capparis sepiaria is widespread, locally common and occurs in various habitats. Therefore it is not threatened by genetic erosion.

Prospects

Although Capparis sepiaria is widely used in traditional medicine in tropical Africa, little pharmacological research has been done so far. However, for India research results are available, and these point to interesting antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, antitumour, anthelmintic and hepatoprotective activities, which support the use of various plant parts in local medicine. Because of the reports on the toxicity of various plant parts, studies of the phytochemistry are needed before methods for safe usage as medicine, forage and food plant can be recommended.

Major references

• Arbonnier, M., 2004. Trees, shrubs and lianas of West African dry zones. CIRAD, Margraf Publishers Gmbh, MNHN, Paris, France. 573 pp.
• Busson, F., 1965. Plantes alimentaires de l’ouest Africain: étude botanique, biologique et chimique. Leconte, Marseille, France. 568 pp.
• Gopal, Y.V., Ravindranath, A., Kalpana, G. & Reddy, V.P., 2011. Antitumor activity of Capparis sepiaria on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma in mice. International Journal of Biomedical Research 2(4): 264–271.
• Satyanarayana, T., Mathews, A.A., Male, C.K.V.L.S.N.A. & Surendra, G., 2010. Screening of anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of stem extract of Capparis sepiaria Linn. Research Journal of Pharmaceutical Biological and Chemical Sciences 1(3): 330–336.
• Thirumalaikumaran, R. & Reddy, C.U.M., 2011. Evaluation of hepatoprotective activity of Capparis sepiaria leaves. International Journal of Biomedical Research 2(3): 204-212.

Other references

• Burkill, H.M., 1985. The useful plants of West Tropical Africa. 2nd Edition. Volume 1, Families A–D. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, United Kingdom. 960 pp.
• Kamuhabwa, A., Nshimo, C. & de Witte, P., 2000. Cytotoxicity of some medicinal plant extracts used in Tanzanian traditional medicine. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 70: 143–149.
• Latha, S., Selvamani, P., Pal, T.K. & Gupta, J.K., 2009. Anthelmintic activity of Heliotropium zeylanicum and Capparis sepiaria L. Asian Journal of Chemistry 21(7): 5780–5782.
• Leung, W.-T.W., Busson, F. & Jardin, C., 1968. Food composition table for use in Africa. FAO, Rome, Italy. 306 pp.
• Neuwinger, H.D., 2000. African traditional medicine: a dictionary of plant use and applications. Medpharm Scientific, Stuttgart, Germany. 589 pp.
• Rajesh, P., Latha, S., Selvamani, P. & Rajesh Kannan, V., 2010. Phytochemical screening and toxicity studies on the leaves of Capparis sepiaria Linn. (Capparidaceae). Journal of Basic and Clinical Pharmacy 1(1): 41–46.
• Selvamani, P., Latha, S., Elayaraja, K., Babu, P.S., Gupta, J.K., Pal, T.K., Ghosh, L.K. & Sen, D.J., 2008. Antidiabetic activity of the ethanol extract of Capparis sepiaria leaves. Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 70(3): 378–380.
• Taïta, P., 2000. La biodiversité des espèces spontanées utilisées dans l’alimentation et la pharmacopée dans la région de la réserve de biosphère de la Mare aux Hippopotames. In: Actes du Forum National de la Recherche Scientifique et des Innovations Technologiques (FRSIT), 3–8 avril 2000, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Tome 2. Sécurité alimentaire. pp. 77–95.
• Vivien, J. & Faure, J.J., 1996. Fruitiers sauvages d’Afrique: espèces du Cameroun. Ministère Français de la Coopération, Paris, France & CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. 416 pp.
• Windadri, F.I., 2001. Capparis L. In: van Valkenburg, J.L.C.H. & Bunyapraphatsara, N. (Editors). Plant Resources of South-East Asia No 12(2): Medicinal and poisonous plants 2. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, Netherlands. pp. 138–141.

Author(s)

• R.H.M.J. Lemmens, PROTA Network Office Europe, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 341, 6700 AH Wageningen, Netherlands

Correct citation of this article

Lemmens, R.H.M.J., 2013. Capparis sepiaria L. In: Schmelzer, G.H. & Gurib-Fakim, A. (Editors). Prota 11(2): Medicinal plants/Plantes médicinales 2. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. Accessed 18 December 2024.

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