ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT Yucca schidigera extract (YSE) has received much interest in the application of manure deodorization and hazardous gas mitigation in livestock rearing conditions. The main objective of this review article was to summarize the current knowledge regarding YSE towards its gas mitigation from livestock excrement. Saponins have been considered to be vital components of YSE in odor control and gas reduction in intensive farming industry due to their potentials in lowering methane for ruminants and ammonia for monogastric animals. This review article mainly covered the studies in ruminants, especially focused on in vitro environment. It also summarized possible reasons of the conflicting results among studies from the perspective of experimental design such as incubation time (in vitro) or storage time of manure, and some other factors such as feed source and dietary composition. In addition to traditional dietary inclusion of YSE alone, recent studies prone to apply YSE in new ways such as combining it with other natural compounds or using it to treat manure directly. Until now, there are still controversies in terms of the effectiveness of YSE in intensive-farming environment among researches, therefore further deeper studies on the expression of YSE bioactivity are needed, especially on the molecular level.
ABSTRACT
Effects of yucca extract (YE) on feed efficiency, immune and antioxidative function in Arbor Acres broilers were studied. One hundred and twenty-eight fourteen-day-old broiler chickens were randomly divided into four treatments with four replicates of 8 birds each. These four diets were formulated by adding 0, 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg YE to the basal diet. The results showed that: diets supplemented with 100 and 200 mg/kg YE increased average body weight gain, feed efficiency, IgG, IgM, T-AOC, CAT and SOD levels, and have positive effects on inducing immune organs' maturation. In addition, 100 mg treatment mainly improved the feed efficiency whereas 200 mg treatment mainly acted on immunity and anti-oxidation. In conclusion, YE can be used as a feed additive due to its capability to improve feed efficiency, immune and antioxidative function in broilers.