More rarely, mature and semi-mature fruits are eaten as a cooked vegetable. Additionally, ash from burned caper roots has been used as a source of salt. Medicinal Uses Capers are said to reduce flatulence and to be anti-rheumatic in effect. Capers have reported uses for arteriosclerosis, as diuretics, kidney disinfectants, vermifuges and tonics. Infusions and decoctions from caper root bark have been traditionally used for dropsy, anemia, arthritis and gout.
Capers contain considerable amounts of the anti-oxidant bioflavinoid rutin.
Caper extracts and pulps have been used in cosmetics, but there has been reported contact dermatitis and sensitivity from their use. There is a strong association between the caperbush and oceans and seas. Capparis spinosa is said to be native to the Mediterranean basin, but its range stretches from the Atlantic coasts of the Canary Islands and Morocco to the Black Sea to the Crimea and Armenia, and eastward to the Caspian Sea and into Iran. Capers probably originated from dry regions in west or central Asia. Known and used for millennia, capers were mentioned by Dioscorides as being a marketable product of the ancient Greeks.