Yucca

Scientific Name(s): Yucca spp.
Common Name(s): Adam's needle, Joshua tree, Mohave yucca, Our Lord's candle, Soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, Yucca

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com. Last updated on Jan 24, 2022.

Clinical Overview

Use

Note: This monograph discusses yucca species, which includes yucca food sources as well as those varieties used medicinally.

Historically, yucca has been used as a fiber (eg, in rope, sandals, and cloth) in making soaps, and is purported to be beneficial in treating hypertension, arthritis, migraine headaches, and colitis. In vitro and animal experiments suggest that yucca constituents exert anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiplatelet, and cytotoxic activity. It has also been shown to positively impact fertility in animals. However, clinical trials are lacking to support any of these uses.

Dosing

Whole yucca plant powder is available in tablet form; however, there are no clinical trials upon which to base dosing recommendations.

Contraindications

Contraindications have not been determined.

Pregnancy/Lactation

Avoid use. Information regarding safety and efficacy in pregnancy and lactation is lacking.

Interactions

None well documented.

Adverse Reactions

Information is limited. Yucca powder and yucca extract derived from Yucca schidigera have been given US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status. Ornamental use of yucca plants is associated with a high frequency of allergic rhinitis. A case report describes contact urticaria and sensitization.

Toxicology

No data.

Scientific Family

• Agavaceae

Botany

The name "yucca" applies to as many as 40 species of trees and shrubs found mostly in arid portions of North and Central America. The common names can apply to different species: Spanish bayonet refers to Yucca aloifolia, and Our Lord's candle refers to Yucca whipplei. Other common yuccas include Y. schidigera (Mohave yucca), Yucca glauca (soapweed yucca), Yucca elephantipes or Yucca gigantea (spineless yucca), and Yucca brevifolia (Joshua tree), which grows to 20 m in height and is commonly found at the bases of desert mountains. Yucca plants are characterized by stiff, evergreen, sword-shaped leaves crowded on a stout trunk. The dense, terminal flowerhead (panicle) faintly resembles a candle. The flowers are white or greenish. All yucca plants depend on pollination from nocturnal yucca moths (Tegeticula yucca sella), with each variety of moth adapted to a single species of yucca.Leung 1980, Tyler 1992, Yucca 2012

History

For centuries, yucca plants have been used by indigenous people for a variety of purposes. Traditional uses include boiling and baking the fruits, eating the blossoms, chewing the raw leaves, and fermenting the fruits to produce a beverage for use in rituals. Yucca fiber has been used in making rope, sandals, and cloth. Yucca contains saponins that have a long-lasting soaping action; the roots have been used in soaps and shampoos. Yucca has also been used as a food supplement. The plant is purported to be beneficial for treating hypertension, arthritis, migraine headaches, and colitis, as well as a variety of other disorders. A solid extract is derived from the leaves; the Mohave yucca is the most common commercially used yucca plant. Yucca extracts are currently used commercially as foaming agents in carbonated beverages, as flavorings, and in drug synthesis research.Leung 1980, Tyler 1992

Chemistry

The roots and flowers of yucca are rich in saponin steroidal gl...