If the ingredient list is one of the first things you read when choosing a pet food, you’re not alone. The majority of pet owners surveyed – 57% – said that “back label” information (e.g. ingredients, nutritional information) is “very” or “extremely” important to them when buying of pet food.
When looking at the ingredients of a pet food, have you ever wondered about the unfamiliar, weird, and chemical names? If so, you’re not alone with these questions either. That’s why we’ll be sharing information about some of the ingredients we use in various Diamond dog and cat food formulas.
The first is one of the weird looking (and sounding) ingredients: Yucca Schidigera extract.
What is this?
Yucca Schidigera, which has the common names Mojave yucca and “Spanish dagger”, is an evergreen shrub or small tree found in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of southeastern California, southern Nevada, and western Arizona, as well as Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. The plant was used in traditional Native American medicine to treat various health conditions, including arthritis.
Today, the trunks of Y. schidigera the trees are ground up and processed into powder and extracts for use in many products, including dog and cat food. Yucca Schidigera has GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status, so these products are considered safe to eat.
Why add it to pet food?
Yucca Schidigera the extract is added to some dog and cat foods to help reduce animal stool odor. You can also find it among the ingredients in ferret and rabbit foods.
Research suggests that adding Y. schidigera to pet food can alter the production or availability of certain foul-smelling gases – namely hydrogen sulfide – in the large intestine, thereby reducing stinky stools.
How?
Although much remains to be learned, researchers know that the predominant compounds in Y. schidigera extract are saponins, which are natural detergents. Saponins have been promoted for many nutritional benefits, including reducing stool odor by reducing ammonia production. These compounds have also been shown to inhibit gram-positive bacteria, stabilizing fermentation in the large intestine and possibly explaining how Y. schidigera reduces ammonia production and stool odor.
Yucca Schidigera works without affecting taste, mineral utilization, food digestibility or stool consistency in dogs and cats.
By adding Y. schidigera to pet food may be relatively new, the plant has been used in livestock and poultry feed for decades (and for the same reason).
And now you know!
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