With more than 150 articles concerning its use in breeding, yucca is described as a plant whose effects, such as ammonia uptake or lysis of certain protozoa, are very well documented. Its use in poultry, ruminants or pet diets makes it the reference saponin-containing plant. Yucca grows mainly in Mexico, as well as in some parts of the southern United States, where its exploitation is prohibited. Its reduced availability on one hand, and its increased use in animal feed, on the other hand, explain its increasing price in recent years.
Based on several research projects dedicated to saponins, Nor-Feed launched a saponin screening program in 2013 in order to characterize several plants offering a saponin composition with interesting properties.
The creation of a bibliographic inventory of the more than 2000 plants described in the literature made it possible to select about twenty plants of potential interest. Extracts from these were qualified and tested for specific use.
The association of several of these plants allowed to develop a real alternative to yucca, which offers a profile and properties quite comparable to asparagacea. Norponin Opti is the result of this approach, a product showing the same efficiency as yucca … at a more competitive price.