Yucca

The present study was designed to determine the protective effects of Yucca schidigera (Ys) against oxidative damage induced by acute nitrite intoxication as well as the histopathological evaluation of Ys in rats. The rats were divided into three groups each containing 12 rats: control (C); nitrite intoxication (N); Ys + nitrite intoxication (NY). C and N groups were fed standard rat feed (SRF). The NY group was fed SRF + 100 ppm Ys powder for 4 weeks. Acute nitrite intoxication was induced by subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of sodium nitrite (60 mg/kg) 1 day after the feeding period. Fifty minutes after sodium nitrite administration, blood samples and tissues including lung, liver, and kidney were collected for clinical biochemistry and histopathological investigations. Ys treatment was found to decrease methemoglobin, blood and tissue malondialdehyde, and tissue nitric oxide concentrations, and to increase the glutathione in blood and various tissues. However, plasma nitric oxide, total antioxidant activity, β-carotene, and vitamin A did not differ between N and NY groups. While the N group rats showed distinct pathology in various tissues (compared with controls), the NY group had similar lung and liver pathology to the control. Only moderate or mild hemorrhage and hyperemia were seen in kidneys of NY group rats. Consequently, the natural compounds found in Ys, such as polyphenols, steroidal saponins, and other phytonutrients, could be used to substantially protect the organism from nitrite-induced oxidative damage and its complications.

Yucca queretaroensis es una especie endémica de la región denominada “Semidesierto Queretano-Hidalguense” en los estados de Guanajuato, Querétaro e Hidalgo, México. Se considera rara por su baja densidad poblacional, distribución restringida y su especificidad de hábitat, además de estar en la Norma Oficial Mexicana como sujeta a protección especial (Pr). Al momento de su descripción como nueva especie fue ubicada en la serie Rupicolae, sección Chaenocarpa. La siguiente propuesta la situó en la serie Gracilifoliae, sección Yucca. Ninguno de los dos planteamientos toma en cuenta la posición filogenética de la especie y tampoco contiene información morfológica completa. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron proporcionar una descripción completa de la especie, incluyendo frutos y semillas; elaborar la ilustración botánica; compilar y discutir su historia taxonómica y presentar una propuesta sobre su posición taxonómica con base en la información morfológica y los estudios filogenéticos previos. Se propone ubicar a Yucca queretaroensis Piña en la serie Treculeanae, sección Yucca (ex Sarcocarpa) sensu McKelvey

Fifty-five mg per kg live weight of crystallized Yucca schidigera saponins, corresponding to 26 mg/kg live weight of sapogenins, was given daily intraruminally to two lambs for 11 consecutive days. Neither of the lambs showed any sign of toxicity throughout the experimental period. One lamb was killed 5 h after the last dose and GC-MS analysis of the free and conjugated sapogenin content samples of liver, and of the contents of the rumen, omasum, abomasum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon and rectum, of faecal samples collected before dosing started, and of parts of the administered Yucca saponin were performed. The Yucca material contained mainly sarsasapogenin and smilagenin saponins. Ingested saponins were quickly hydrolysed in the rumen to free sapogenins and, in part, epimerized at C-3 to afford episapogenins. The absorption of free sapogenins appeared to occur in the jejunum. The metabolism of Yucca saponins was identical to that of Narthecium ossifragum saponins, and it is sug...

On the basis of the biological activities exhibited by the phenolic constituents of Yucca schidigera, the antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of Yucca gloriosa roots was evaluated in the TEAC assay. The strong activity exerted by this extract prompted investigation of its phenolic constituents, yielding three new phenolic derivatives, gloriosaols C, D, and E, along with gloriosaols A and B previously isolated from Y. gloriosa roots and yuccaols C-E isolated from Y. schidigera. ESIMS and NMR data of gloriosaols C-E closely resembled those reported for gloriosaols A and B, two diasteroisomers characterized by unusual spirostructures. Careful inspection of ROESY spectra revealed that gloriosaols C-E are diastereoisomers of gloriosaols A and B. A possible assignment of the relative configuration of gloriosaols C-E, derived according to an integrated NMR-quantum mechanical (QM) approach, which was already applied to the determination of the stereostructures of gloriosaols A and B, is also proposed. Gloriosaols A-E exhibited potent antioxidant activity measured by the TEAC assay, showing the potential use of Y. gloriosa as a source of antioxidant principles.

Yucca queretaroensis es una especie endémica de la región denominada “Semidesierto Queretano-Hidalguense” en los estados de Guanajuato, Querétaro e Hidalgo, México. Se considera rara por su baja densidad poblacional, distribución restringida y su especificidad de hábitat, además de estar en la Norma Oficial Mexicana como sujeta a protección especial (Pr). Al momento de su descripción como nueva especie fue ubicada en la serie Rupicolae, sección Chaenocarpa. La siguiente propuesta la situó en la serie Gracilifoliae, sección Yucca. Ninguno de los dos planteamientos toma en cuenta la posición filogenética de la especie y tampoco contiene información morfológica completa. Los objetivos de este trabajo fueron proporcionar una descripción completa de la especie, incluyendo frutos y semillas; elaborar la ilustración botánica; compilar y discutir su historia taxonómica y presentar una propuesta sobre su posición taxonómica con base en la información morfológica y los estudios filogenéticos ...

The in vitro effect of a Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) and tannins from chestnut wood on composition and metabolic activity of canine and feline faecal microbiota was evaluated. Four treatments were carried out: control diet, chestnut tannins (CT), YSE and CT + YSE. The YSE was added to canine and feline faecal cultures at 0.1 g/l, while CT were added at 0.3 g/l for a 24-h incubation. A total of 130 volatile compounds were detected by means of headspace-solid phase microextraction gas-chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses. Several changes in the metabolite profiles of fermentation fluids were found, including a decrease of alcohols (-19%) and esters (-42%) in feline and canine inoculum, respectively, which was due to the antibacterial properties of tannins. In canine inoculum, after 6 h, YSE + CT caused lower cadaverine concentrations (-37%), while ammonia (-4%) and quinolone (-27%) were reduced by addition of CT. After 24 h, the presence of CT resulted in a decrease of sulphur...