Is Yucca Schidigera Extract Safe For Dog?
Yucca schidigera is also known as Mojave yucca and Spanish dagger, is a small evergreen tree native to the desert of Mexico and America. It is found in southeastern California, New Mexico, Arizona, and southern Nevada. The plant grows up to 5 meters (16 ft) tall and has a conspicuous basal trunk. It has a dense crown of bayonet-like leaves and a conspicuous basal trunk. The bark is gray-brown and covered with dead leaves. Its yellow-green or blue-green leaves are aromatic and have a scrubbing effect on the GI tract.
Some people grow it for food or as a decorative plant. The herb has been used centuries for internal cleansing and detoxification in Native Americans for hundreds of years to treat many ailments, including diarrhea and intestinal problems. Some dog foods even contain it as an ingredient and many studies have proven the effectiveness of yucca schidigera in reducing the smell of dog stools. The plant is used in cat and dog formulas to control ammonia and hydrogen sulfide production in the digestive tract. And then the question, is the yucca schidigera safe for your dog?
In studies, yucca improves the health of joints in dogs. It can help reduce the severity of joint pain in dogs due to its anti-inflammatory effects. It is rich in antioxidants that may prevent the onset of arthritis, that contributes to the yucca polyphenols in yucca extract, which have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, can inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors, can reduce pet tear spots, prevent pet arthritis. It controls inflammation and is an excellent supplement for arthritic conditions in dogs. In a beef raising study, it’s found that Yucca schidigera extract can thicken intestinal mucosa, inhibits viruses and harmful bacteria from absorbing digestive tract nutrients and inhibit their proliferation.
Now the more and more pet feeding manufacturer added the yucca schidigera extract in their products, which is usually consumed in particle, powder form. Herbalists believe that the leaves of this plant contain compounds that inhibit the production of hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. It has been found that the yucca saponins can reduce cellular surface tension and enhance immune system odor, while the active compound in yucca, can help the dog absorb nutrients and reduce the amount of ammonia.
How to choose a good Yucca extract
Before purchasing yucca extracts, we must find out what kind of yucca plant these products are derived from. Because yucca contains 49 species and 24 subspecies. In general, the effect of yucca schidigera as a feed additive is better than other species.
We all know that there are many yucca extract factories, it is important to know the manufacturer’s production process before buying. Some yucca extracts are transported to the processing plant by removing the trunk part of the leaves, and then broken and fully soaked and squeezed into a foam-like juice, which is then sprayed on the carrier by distillation and concentration and then dried. Another type of yucca extract is dried and ground directly into a powder product. They are all called yucca extracts, but their prices vary widely. Always consult your supplier before buying.
When yucca extract is used as a dog food additive, we should pay attention to the content of saponin and B50 value. Saponins have a series of biological functions, such as promoting feed protein and nutrient absorption, antioxidant capacity, anti-stress, antigenicity, cholesterol reduction and so on. The higher the content of saponins, the stronger the effect in vivo and in vitro of animals. The B50 value is a measure of the product’s ability to bind ammonia gas, that is, the amount of product used to reduce the free ammonia concentration (5 mol) to 50% of its original level using nitrocyanidation phenol method during laboratory testing. Indicated by mg, the lower the value is, the stronger the adsorptive capacity of ammonia is.
