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Yucca

Yucca schidigera (Yucca) is a member of the lily family and the root is used for several therapeutic purposes. Yucca supplies saponins, a group of steroid derivatives which serve as the precursors in the synthesis of cortisone and related corticoids. The major steroids of Yucca are sarsasapogenin, its isomer smilagenin, markogenin, tigogenin, hecogenin, markogenin and gitogenin. Saponins are glycosides, occurring primarily but not exclusively, in plants that in general share a number of properties, including, binding of 3-.beta.-OH sterols, marked foaming in water, surfactant properties and hemolysis of red blood cells when aqueous solutions are injected into the bloodstream. Sapogenins are the acid hydrolysis products of saponins, which are amphiphilic, steroidal or triterpenoid glycoside compounds. Numerous studies of saponin extracts have reported relieve of arthritic symptoms such as swelling and pain. Yucca is a useful treatment for chronic degenerative diseases and joint inflammation due to its ability to break up inorganic mineral obstructions and deposits. Yucca root extract also works to clean the colon and regulate colonic bacteria, reducing the burden on other eliminative systems of the body. Yucca is rich in vitamin A, B-complex, and vitamin C, and is a good source of calcium, copper, manganese, potassium and phosphorous.

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