YUCCA TECHNOLOGY
Excerpts From Literature
» At Texas A & M University it was shown that Yucca schidigera extract if fed to hens at 31 or 155 ppm, egg production increased & ammonia levels remained below 20 ppm
» Research at Colorado State University shows that Yucca sarsaponin can cause significant improvement in economical desirable traits such as gains, conversions and carcass characteristics as well as affect digestive parameters in beef cattle.
» Litter improves with age, as regards the control of ammonia on the turkey brooder house floor, when a 40 % Yucca saponin is mixed into tom turkey's normal feed formulation. Yucca saponin in turkey feeds has a slightly positive effect on the parameters of body weight, early mortality, or salmonella.
» Broilers fed 63 ppm of Yucca schidigera saponin are significantly heavier than control broilers at both 28 and 51 days of age. There is also better feed utilization when fed 63 ppm than if fed none and the effect of Yucca saponin in broiler feeds is probably continuous throughout grow out.
» Addition of 63 ppm to broiler feeds increases body weights, and improves feed efficiency when fed with 121 ppm of Monensin. Yucca saponins may condition the cell membranes, and reduce surface tension which could aid in better absorption of nutrients in cell membranes. Yucca saponins exhibit stress relieving properties, and it is likely that broilers on higher levels of Monensin respond by performing better when Yucca saponin is added to the diet.
» One trial at Purdue University has shown that pigs fed 62.5 ppm Yucca saponin gain weight 5 % faster and consume 4 % more feed than pigs receiving same feed without any Yucca saponin. Another trial has found that pigs fed 62.5 ppm Yucca saponin gain weight 6 % faster and consume 6 % more feed than pigs receiving same feed without any Yucca saponin. Gains and feed efficiency response of pigs appears to be greater as floor and feeder space is reduced.
» At the University of Kentucky feeding trials with weanling pigs when fed Yucca sarsaponin at 62 and 125 ppm resulted in faster gains and tended to improved feed/gain.
» In a study at Colorado State University, Yucca sarsaponin or its fractions were determined to be effective in reducing the production of ammonia in a rumen in vitro system.
» At Texas Tech University, it was concluded that one effect of Yucca sarsaponin is to decrease mean ruminal ammonia levels.
» At the University of Nebraska it was determined that grower-finisher pigs improved overall efficiency of feed conversion when fed 63 ppm Yucca schidigera plant extract. The effect of feeding 63 ppm Yucca and chlortetracycline is synergistic for grower pigs, as regards daily gains and intakes of feed.
» In a study from the University of Georgia the harmful effects of ammonia in poultry houses was well documented. Ammonia can affect the length of life of the poultry house and equipment within. A poultry house receiving 130 ppm of liquid Yucca schidigera extract will experience significantly lower ammonia production than an alike control house. This extract coupled with sound manure management appears to be effective in controlling ammonia in the laying house.
» Fecal odour intensity decreased significantly as levels of a Yucca schidigera based feed ingredient product increased in both dog and cat foods... Fecal odour is reduced after Yucca is included in the food, by as much as 49 % in cats and 56 % in dogs.
» At the University of Minnesota, during finisher phase, pigs fed Yucca sarsaponin perform better than pigs fed antibacterials or antibacterials plus copper sulfate. Pigs fed sarsaponin plus copper sulfate perform better during finisher phase than pigsfed antibacterials plus copper sulfate.
» A mode of action for the steroid saponins of Yucca schidigera that alters the utilization rate of ammonia nitrogen, rather than its release, is consistent with all of the research data generated as of today.
» By stimulating microbial growth, particularly under less than ideal conditions, Yucca schidigera extract stimulates utilization of ammonia and other food material, resulting in a more rapid and complete digestion.
» Yucca was found to bind noxious gases, particularly ammonia in pig dung, preventing them escaping into the atmosphere to create obnoxious smell.
» Data presented clearly demonstrate that the presence of Yucca schidigera extract in solutions containing ammonia reduces the level of ammonia detected.
» At Purdue University, a combination of fermented whey and sarsaponin when fed to tom turkeys, litter ammonium nitrogen content was lower as was atmospheric ammonia levels.
» A 10 % increase in ammonia in the air in a chicken house will depress body weight by approximately 1 %. A slight odor of ammonia reduces body weight by 1 - 2%; a noticeable eye and nose irritation reduces body weight by up to 25 %.
» Too much ammonia in the atmosphere can have a disastrous effect on housed livestock. In pigs it can result in the nasal condition known as "ape"(atrophic rhinitis), while chickens can go blind. Addition of extracts from Yucca schidigera to animal feeds cause the smell to be reduced. The ammonia is being bound by certain components of the extract, partly as the food is passing through the gut, but more particularly once it is outside the animal.
» In Japan, the addition of Yucca schidigera extract improved palatability and digestibility of rice straw when fed to goats.
» In a study at Kentucky State University, Yucca schidigera extract was shown to have some potential as a preconditioning agent in aquaculture systems because of its ability to lower ammonia and nitrite levels in a recirculating aquaculture system.
» At Northwestern University, the use of Yucca schidigera in horse feeds may also decrease ammonia release into the environment without adversely affecting nitrogen utilization. Supplementation of the basal diet with Yucca schidigera extract tended to increase the digestibility of dietary dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, hemicellulose, acid detergent fiber and cellulose.
» In Taiwan, the results of an experiment showed that the performance of pigs fed sarsaponin diet was superior to those fed zeolite powder diet and the control group in daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and days on test. The sarsaponin treatment had better NH3 deodorization efficacy than those of the control group.
» For layers there is a loss of 1.5 eggs/year/hen housed for every 10 ppm increase in ammonia. With broilers there is a loss of 15 gr. of live weight gain/bird for every 10 ppm increase in ammonia. If Yucca schidigera products enable us to control ammonia cost effectively we will have made significant progress in improving bird performance.
» Intestinal ammonia level may have a significant influence on reducing ascites mortality (of broilers). Inclusion of a urease inhibitor (Yucca schidigera extract) in the daily diet of broilers significantly reduced mortality.
» Research has confirmed the ability of a urease inhibitor (Yucca schidigera extract) to reduce mortality.
» In Mexico, in a test with Yucca schidigera extract fed to heavy broilers, general mortality was reduced from 27 % to 21 % and ascites related mortality reduced from 19 % to 14 %
» In a British journal it was reported that Yucca schidigera reduces ammonia and H2S gas levels in "piggeries". Solids in slurry are broken down more quickly because the sarsaponin in Yucca increases bacteria. A surprising spin-off to this activity in the sludge is that sarsaponin also seems to act as a natural growth promoter, possibly by conditioning the absorbent cells in the gut and/or by reducing surface tension at the point of absorption.
» A research project at Oregon State University determined that dietary Yucca schidigera extract reduces atmospheric ammonia in poultry and rabbit houses, and increases growth rate.
» Another test performed on steers at Oregon State University showed a tendency for Yucca schidigera to reduce rumen ammonia levels, plasma ammonia levels, and plasma urea-N levels. This could lead to more efficient utilization of dietary nitrogen, particularly when high roughage diets with urea are fed.
