Natural ingredients for pet food
Dogs and cats: yucca saponins are documented for flatulence, faecal odour and digestive comfort, in support of a natural, well-tolerated formulation.
Yucca Schidigera, a pet food essential
Few natural ingredients have established themselves in pet food formulation as lastingly as Yucca schidigera. Sought after for its action on odours and digestive comfort, it now features in a wide range of premium and veterinary recipes for dogs and cats: kibble, wet food and functional treats.
This popularity rests on a simple promise that owners can verify every day: less malodorous stools and less flatulence. In a market where the experience at home drives repeat purchase, this noticeable effect makes yucca a selling point as much as a nutritional benefit.
Its plant origin and long history of use also make it a reassuring ingredient for consumers who pay attention to naturalness and to the ingredient list, at the heart of the “clean label” trend in pet food.
Uses identified on the market: dog and cat kibble, supplements against coprophagia and flatulence, hairball treats [5].
Digestive comfort, without compromise
A natural formulation
Yucca is incorporated into kibble, wet food and functional treats for dogs and cats.
Support for digestive comfort
Saponins act on ammonia nitrogen and support the balance of the intestinal microbiota.
A benefit noticed every day
Less flatulence, less malodorous stools: the effect owners notice for themselves.
Where the odour of dog and cat stools comes from
In the colon, the fermentation of undigested proteins and amino acids produces so-called “putrefactive” compounds, responsible for the strong odour of stools. A very high-protein or poorly digestible diet accentuates it[5].
The odour results from a mixture: ammonia, amines, sulphides, fatty acids, esters, alcohols, aldehydes and ketones. In dogs, analysis by chromatography coupled with olfactometry attributes the “faecal”, “manure” and “old socks” notes mainly to methyl sulphides[1].
Improved odour in dogs and cats
How does yucca work? Six lines of enquiry examined
Lowe et al. compared their measurements with the mechanisms proposed in the literature. Some lines of enquiry are ruled out, others retained: here is their verdict.
Faecal pH, which could alter the volatility of odorous compounds, is not correlated with odour.[1]
Intestinal transit time does not appear to be altered by yucca supplementation.[1]
This pathway has been discredited as a major route for reducing ammonia, although urease inhibition is used as a quality test by some manufacturers.[1][3]
At the inclusion rate used, there is too little yucca to bind most of the odorous molecules. But when added to a solution of sulphides, indole and skatole, it reduces their perceived odour.[1]
Example: a 3.26 kg cat eating 90 g/day of a food containing 125 mg/kg of the product receives about 3.4 mg of yucca, against 0.64 to 4.89 mg of skatole produced per day.
Blood urea increases in cats: saponins may alter intestinal absorption, which would partly explain the fall in faecal ammonia.[1][2]
For the authors, the main effect most probably works through a direct or indirect change in the intestinal flora, which alters the metabolites produced.[1]
Not all extracts are equal. Obtained by concentrating the plant's juice with heat, yucca extract varies between products and batches; and no routine test (urease inhibition, binding capacity) has so far been validated as predictive of the effect on odour[1]. Hence the value of a controlled supply that is consistent from one batch to the next.
Yucca and zeolite, combined in cat litter
A US patent describes a biodegradable litter based on distillers' grains and modified starch, which combines Actifeed's two families of ingredients[4].
Zeolite attracts and traps ammonia in its crystalline structure, and regulates moisture to prevent mould. Yucca schidigera inhibits the action of urease and thus slows the formation of ammonia from the urea in urine; it also helps to neutralise the odour of faeces.
The mechanism invoked here concerns urine in the litter, not the digestive tract. A patent describes an invention and its claims: it does not constitute proof of efficacy.
Our range for pet food
Yucca in pet food
Does yucca mask odour or reduce it?
Both mechanisms probably coexist. According to Lowe et al., the main effect is thought to work through the intestinal flora, upstream of the formation of odorous compounds; a direct effect on the perception of a mixture of molecules has also been observed. The human panel mainly describes a change in the character of the odour.
What inclusion rate should be used?
The effects of yucca extract on stool odour are dose-dependent. At high doses, saponins, which are poorly absorbed, can cause adverse effects such as diarrhoea. Actifeed specifies the doses for its range in the technical data sheet.
Why do two yucca-based products give different results?
Because the extract varies according to the origin of the plant, the heat concentration process and the batch. No routine test has yet been validated as predictive of the effect on odour: consistency of supply is therefore decisive.
Is Yucca schidigera the same as cassava?
No. Yucca schidigera is a plant of the deserts of the American south-west and Mexico, from the Agavaceae family, used for its saponins. It has nothing to do with cassava (Manihot esculenta), sometimes called “yuca” in Spanish, whose tubers are eaten.
Does yucca have a place in litter?
Yes: a US patent combines Yucca schidigera (0.2%) and zeolite (5%) in a cat litter, the former to slow the formation of ammonia from the urea in urine, the latter to trap ammonia and moisture.
Scientific literature
- Lowe J.A., Kershaw S.J., Taylor A.J., Linforth R.S.T. (1997). The effect of Yucca schidigera extract on canine and feline faecal volatiles occurring concurrently with faecal aroma amelioration. Research in Veterinary Science, 63(1), 67-71.
- Lowe J.A., Kershaw S.J. (1997). The effect of Yucca schidigera extract on canine and feline faecal aroma. Research in Veterinary Science, 63(1), 61-66.
- Killeen G.F., Buggle K.A., Hynes M.J., Walsh G.A., Power R.F., Headon D.R. (1994). Influence of Yucca schidigera preparations on the activity of urease from Bacillus pasteurii. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 65, 433-440.
- Tsengas S., Teuscher J.S. (2004). Cat litter. US Patent 6,817,315 B1, United States Patent and Trademark Office, 16 November 2004.
- Alnot M. (2022). L’intérêt du Yucca en diététique animale. Popular veterinary article, 2 July 2022.