Antiallergic and antihistaminic effect of two extracts of Capparis spinosa L. flowering buds.

The antiallergic properties of two lyophilized extracts obtained from Capparis spinosa L. flowering buds (capers) by methanol extraction, carried out at room temperature (CAP-C) or with heating at 60 °C (CAP-H), were investigated. The protective effects of CAP-H and CAP-C, orally administered (14.28 mg[sol ]kg), were evaluated against Oleaceae antigen challenge-induced and histamine-induced bronchospasm in anaesthetized guinea-pigs. Furthermore, the histamine skin prick test was performed on humans, applying a gel formulation containing 2% CAP-C (the only extract able to protect against histamine-induced bronchospasm) on the skin for 1 h before histamine application and monitoring the erythema by reflectance spectrophotometry. The CAP-H showed a good protective effect against the bronchospasm induced by antigen challenge in sensitized guinea-pigs; conversely, a significant decrease in the responsiveness to histamine was seen only in CAP-C pretreated animals. Finally, the CAP-C gel formulation possessed a marked inhibitory effect (46.07%) against histamine-induced skin erythema. These two caper extracts displayed marked antiallergic effectiveness; however, the protective effect of CAP-H was very likely due to an indirect mechanism (for example, inhibition of mediator release from mast cells or production of arachidonic acid metabolites); conversely, CAP-C is endowed with direct antihistaminic properties. The different mechanisms of action of CAP-H and CAP-C may be related to a difference in the extraction procedure and, thus, in their qualitative[sol ]quantitative chemical profile. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.