Investigations on the pharmacognostic characteristics of capparis species I-lectins

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background: As glycoproteins widely distributed in the plants of carbohydrate binding specificity, lectins are considered macromolecules of paramount significance. Their sugar based binding dependent agglutination property nominates them for blood grouping as well as GIT complications management. Objective: Exploring the nature, classifications, and pharmacological properties of lectins, particularly those found in Capparis species and their aqueous extracts within the last 20-25 years is the aim of this review. Methods: This review evaluates pharmacological studies of Capparis lectins, emphasizing therapeutic effects identified through focused keyword searches. Results: Capparis lectins and aqueous extracts exhibit diverse biological activities, including anti-rheumatic, hypoglycemic, immunomodulatory, and antineoplastic effects with apoptosis-inducing properties. Notably, isolated proteins—both dimeric lectins and monomeric non-lectins—from Capparis spinosa seeds demonstrated potent inhibitory activity against HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, alongside cytotoxicity against hepatoma and breast cancer cell lines. The aqueous extracts also showed antimicrobial (antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitic), anti-hyperlipidemic, antihistaminic, chondrocyte-protective, and wound-healing effects. Immunomodulatory benefits were confirmed in vivo and in vitro for Capparis zeylanica Linn. leaf extracts. Conclusion: The lectins of Capparis species hold promise for developing anti-HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors and as adjuvants in antineoplastic chemotherapy pending formulation improvements to enhance bioavailability and specificity. However, despite the promising bioactivity, further structural and ligand-binding characterization of the lectins from various Capparis plant parts is required.