Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects of yucca schidigera: A review
Since I have mentioning the use of yucca root so much I thought I would post this so people have more details on the herb:
http://ukpmc.ac.uk/articlerender.cgi?artid=561796
Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects of yucca schidigera: A review
Abstract
Yucca schidigera is a medicinal plant native to Mexico. According to folk medicine, yucca extracts have anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory effects. The plant contains several physiologically active phytochemicals. It is a rich source of steroidal saponins, and is used commercially as a saponin source. Saponins have diverse biological effects, including anti-protozoal activity. It has been postulated that saponins may have anti-arthritic properties by suppressing intestinal protozoa which may have a role in joint inflammation. Yucca is also a rich source of polyphenolics, including resveratrol and a number of other stilbenes (yuccaols A, B, C, D and E). These phenolics have anti-inflammatory activity. They are inhibitors of the nuclear transcription factor NFkappaB. NFkB stimulates synthesis of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which causes formation of the inflammatory agent nitric oxide. Yucca phenolics are also anti-oxidants and free-radical scavengers, which may aid in suppressing reactive oxygen species that stimulate inflammatory responses. Based on these findings, further studies on the anti-arthritic effects of Yucca schidigera are warranted.
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Introduction
Yucca schidigera is an herbaceous plant of the lily family, native to the deserts of the south-western United States and northern Mexico. This plant was used in traditional medicine by Native Americans to treat a variety of ailments including arthritis. Yucca products are currently used in a number of applications. Yucca powder and yucca extract are used as animal feed additives, as discussed in detail by Cheeke and Otero [1]. Beneficial effects in livestock and poultry production include: increased growth rate and improved feed conversion efficiency, reduction in atmospheric ammonia in confinement animal and poultry facilities, anti-protozoal and nematocidal activity, modification of ruminal microbe populations, inhibition of Gram-positive bacteria, reductions in stillbirths in swine, reduction in egg and tissue cholesterol contents, and anti-arthritic activity in horses and dogs. Other applications include the use of yucca extract as a foaming agent in beverages, and use in crop production as nematode and fungi-control agents, as a soil wetting agent, and crop growth stimulant. Yucca products have GRAS status, so are FDA-approved for use in humans.
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Yucca saponins
Yucca contains a number of phytochemicals which contribute to these effects. The best known are the steroidal saponins. Saponins are natural detergents [2] that form stable foams. Saponins contain a lipophilic nucleus (the sapogenin) and one or more side chains of hydrophilic carbohydrate (Fig. 1). Thus the intact saponin molecule is a surfactant, with both fat-soluble and water-soluble moities. It has been known for many years [3] that saponins form insoluble complexes with cholesterol. The hydrophobic portion of the saponin (the aglycone or sapongenin) associates (lipophilic bonding) with the hydrophobic sterol nucleus of cholesterol in a stacked micellar aggregation [4].
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Anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects of yucca schidigera: A review