Get to know Yucca Schidigera extract and its benefits
We received on our website a question from Kiara, who is from Lajeado (south
of Brazil), questioning the importance of Yucca Schidigera and the benefits of
adding this extract to pet’s food. We thank Kiara for the question, and hope we
can help all our readers who also have this question. Enjoy the reading!
The growth in the number of households owning cats and dogs comes with a
greater concern about pets’ health and well-being. Pet humanization has
created an even closer relationship between people and animals. This closer
proximity along with the concern with quality of life caused a significant
increase in the demand for foods which serve specific purposes.
Based on research, several additives have been found to provide important
benefits, when added to dogs and cats’ diets, both to pet and family life
integration. An important example is feces odor reduction, a nuisance when
animals and humans share the same space.
Yucca Schidigera extract is an additive widely used in dogs and cats’ nutrition
because it helps to reduce the odor of feces. Saponins, comprised in Yucca,
have the property of acting on nitrogen metabolism by fixing ammonia, thus
reducing the level of gases that produce the unpleasant odor in feces, with a
reduction of up to 56% in dogs and 49% in cats. The saponified extract of
Yucca added to the diet does not affect the pets’ health, since it is not
absorbed, becoming an additional source of fibers, which makes pets’ intestine
to function even better.
Yucca Schidigera is a plant that belongs to the
Agavaceae
family and grows in
deserts, more specifically in Central and North America, mainly in the
southeast of the United States and Mexico. The indigenous peoples of these
regions used to eat its fresh fruit and dry off the leftovers to eat during periods
of food scarcity. For the production of Yucca-based commercial products,
plants are mechanically macerated and dried in order to produce its powder, or
the maceration undergoes a pressing process in order to produce its juice. The
extract is obtained from the juice, which is then used in pet’s food.
Since Nutrire is always thinking about your friend’s well-being and committed
to bringing solutions to its customers, the company offers a complete line of
foods with the addition of Yucca Schidigera extract. Both our lines Monello and
Birbo use the extract in their formulas. Levels of inclusion are indicated on the
product’s packages, with the amounts of Yucca extract expressed in
percentage (%), and with its active ingredient Saponin indicated in milligrams
per kilo (mg/kg) of food. This benefit ensures a healthy and pleasant
relationship between you and your pets.
Gabriel Victoria Martins
Veterinarian
CRMV-RS 16272
Technical Commercial Manager for Nutrire Indústria de Alimentos Ltd.