Capers Medicinal Properties
Capers have played a big role in ancient Greek and Roman medicine. The caper root is used to make herbal tea and treat rheumatism. Capers were used as a carminative in ancient Greece. During biblical times, the caper berry was believed to be have been used as an aphrodisiac. In traditional Arabic medicine, capers are believed to have been very effective as an emmenagogue (drug to hasten menstrual flow). However, they were avoided during pregnancy.
Decoctions from the caper root bark have traditionally been used to treat gout, arthritis, anemia, and dropsy. The caper stem bark is bitter in taste and used as a diuretic.
It is known to increase appetite if taken before meals. Capers are also used as an analgesic, a tonic, an expectorant, a depurative, a vasoconstrictor, an anthelmintic, an aperient, an antihemorrhoidal, and a deobstruent. Researchers believe that the effectiveness of capers for so many purposes could be because of the presence of bioflavinoid rutin, an antioxidant, which also gives a special flavor.
In Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine, capers have been known to be hepatic stimulants, thereby improving liver function. Externally, they are used to treat capillary weakness, easy bruising, and skin conditions. Internally, capers are used in the treatment of gout, diarrhea, and gastrointestinal infections. The flower buds (unopened) are laxative. They are also used for the treatment of eye infections and coughs.
The buds of capers are rich in compounds called aldose-reductose inhibitors. These compounds are known to be very effective in the prevention of cataract formation. The harvested buds (just before the flowers open) are pickled for later use. If prepared correctly, these buds are known to provide relief for stomach pain. The seeds of the caper plant have always been traditionally used to relieve toothache and in the preservation of wine.
There has been some research done on caper extracts in both rats and human beings. In both diabetic (induced) and perfectly normal rats, feeding powdered caper fruit aqueous extracts over a period of around 14 days showed considerable reduction in triglycerides and plasma cholesterol. A 2% methanol powdered extract of caper fruit in aqueous gel showed a positive effect in human volunteers for histamine-induced erythema.
Approximately 600 mg of extraction from dried whole plant used on a daily basis has been used for experimenting hepatoprotective (protection of liver) effects. A 2% aqueous gel is considered as an effective antihistamine. A butanolic extract from capers showed antimicrobial effects much better than aqueous extracts in experiments conducted in vitro. There have been very few adverse reactions reported on human beings during experiments conducted on capers. One of them is the development of contact dermatitis when wet compresses soaked in fluid with caper material were applied topically.
People with hypertension as well as pregnant and breast-feeding women are advised to avoid capers. Although some research has been done on capers all over the world, it should be noted that there is still insufficient clinical evidence to support the medicinal uses of capers. Also, the dosage for these in most forms (eg. seeds, buds, bark) isn’t quite clear.