Medicinal and food value of Capparis—a harsh terrain plant

Capparis is a dominating genus of the family Capparidaceae. Capparis spp. are xerophytic, growing in a broad range of climatic conditions, such as dry deserts to cooler terrains of mountain either as shrubs, trees or creepers. The female flowers of some of the Capparis species are used as vegetable and fruits are used in pickle production because of their high nutritive ingredients like proteins, carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins. Whole plant or parts are used for curing asthma, rheumatism, diabetes, paralysis, toothache, as antihelmintic, antiallergic, snakebite antidote, etc. Out of the many Capparis species, a few are of specific interest for curing particular ailments, like tuberculosis, cancer, rheumatism or diabetes, which still requires extensive study. Simultaneously, it will be valuable to evaluate utility potential of flowers/fruits in cancer patients due to high titre of spermidin containing alkaloids, which are implicated in tumorogenesis. The review highlights medicinal importance of the Capparis products and unnoticed threatened status in their respective niches for sustainable use and long lasting conservation. Being harsh terrain species, plant needs to be considered for strategic planning for greening deserts hilltops.