Re: [compost_tea] More Yucca & Saponin

From: Thomas Giannou <thomas_at_tandjenterprises.com>
Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 20:27:03 -0800

Hi Kirk,

A lot of companies include yucca extract in powdered form with their bacter=
ia and mycorrhizal products. It stimulates plant root growth according to =
many vendors. There are a lot of companies using Yucca Extract to stimulat=
e beneficial organisms for a variety of applications.

Also: "Strong evidence supports the theory that some forms of arthritis ma=
y be caused or worsened by toxic substances occurring in the intestines and=
 absorbed by the body. Yucca seems to inhibit these harmful intestinal bact=
eria and at the same time help the natural and normal forms of bacteria fou=
nd in the tract." This seems to be a common theme with Yucca Extract. I =
get the impression from the literature that it will suppress the fungal and=
 bacterial pathogens while stimulating the beneficials.

I have read studies where Yucca Extract, in higher concentrations, will rem=
ediate most all the fungal diseases in turf grasses. Too bad those studies=
 were not looking at the total biology in the soils.

A lot of mycorrhizal inoculum manufacturers put powdered Yucca Extract in t=
heir products. When I look at the list of benefits to plants attributed to=
 Yucca Extract, the list looks very similar to the list of benefits attribu=
ted to mycorrhizal fungi.

Yucca Extract is claimed to also make plant cells more permeable to water a=
nd nutrient uptake.

I get the impression that Yucca Extract will select against the pathogens w=
hile stimulating the beneficials as far as bacteria and fungi is concerned.=
  For human use, that certainly is the claim. Why would it not work in a s=
imilar manner with well made compost tea?

Here's a test by one company on selected bacteria and the impact of their p=
roduct containing 80% Yucca Extract had on bacteria growth:

Start of Claim...
Microbial Growth Stimulation Test

Test Organisms: Nitrogen Fixing Bacillus and Phosphorus Solubilizing Bacill=
us Bacteria
Medium Assay: Chemically defined medium
Incubation: 30° C for 4 days
Assay: Plate Counts

Procedure

In separate tests, 1 ml spore suspensions of nitrogen fixing and phosphorus=
 solubilizing bacteria were inoculated into 50 ml of chemically defined med=
ium containing 0.1% ammonium chloride and mineral salts. Various amounts of=
 Canteen® shown below were added into the medium and incubated on a labor=
atory shaker at 250 rpm at 30° C. After 4 days, total counts of Colony Fo=
rming Units (CFUs) were performed using plate count techniques.

      Nitrogen Phosphorus
      Results Fixing Bacillus Solubilizing Bacillus
      CFU/ml CFU/ml
      Control 1 x 10^8 2 x 10^8
      0.05% Canteen® 3 x 10^8 4 x 10^8
      0.1% Canteen® 7 x 10^8 5 x 10^8
      0.2% Canteen® 7 x 10^8 5 x 10^8

The above test shows that Canteen® is an effective microbial stimulator o=
f beneficial bacteria. Canteen® is an excellent product to tank mix with =
BioGain®-biostimulants that contain free living nitrogen fixing and phosp=
horus solubilizing bacillus bacteria.

End of Claim....

.2% is about 1.5 tsp per gallon. It would be interesting to see what highe=
r percentages of the product would do to bacteria counts. Do the counts fl=
atten out or increase or decrease? We can't tell by the above. The compan=
y above says that natural sugars in their product stimulate beneficial soil=
 bacteria. They recommend 1 % dilution rate (1 gallon per 100 gallons of w=
ater) as an application for soaking tree root balls before planting. Too b=
ad they didn't run their microbe test out to 1% so we could see what the re=
sults were on the bacteria growth.

I wonder if one couldn't grow out some bacillus bacteria in Petri dishes an=
d then apply Yucca Extract at different dilution rates and see if there's s=
ome point in which the bacteria decreases? I'll have to dig up the dilutio=
n rates for Yucca that I've seen for fungal pathogens in turf grasses. I b=
elieve about 10 weekly applications at 1:100 was sufficient for most proble=
ms.

Since compost tea contains the good, the bad, and the ugly, depending upon =
how it is brewed... perhaps the drop in live ingredients was do to the bad =
and the ugly going away? Did you see any kind of details about what was an=
d was not killed by the addition of Yucca Extract? It would be unusual to =
have that kind of data as to what species were being reduced and what speci=
es were not being reduced because most tea tests do not identify individual=
 species of bacteria and fungi. But that data might indicate that Yucca Ex=
tract is beneficial to beneficial bacteria and fungi while not beneficial t=
o pathogens as is stated in some of the non-compost tea literature (researc=
h and tests).

Thanks for your ideas, but I think I will continue to use Yucca Extract in =
the teas going on my plants. I put 1/4 cup in 5 gallons of diluted tea. T=
hat is about .3% dilution rate.

For what it's worth, other companies say:

http://www.kanzygroup.com/kanzy/feed/AFLATOX.htm
YUCCA SCHIDEGERA EXTRACT: Yucca Extract is rich in Calcium, Potassium, Mang=
anese, Iron, Phosphorus, and Copper which provide better nutrient absorptio=
n at the cellular level. Saponin and other aromatic compounds in Yucca extr=
act can bind ammonia to form saponin-ammonia complexes and reduce the level=
 of noxious ammonia and hydrogen sulphide in Waste. Yucca extract also inhi=
bits urease activity; therefore, prohibiting the release of ammonia and red=
ucing environmental stress while enhancing growth.

http://www.masterline.com/specialties.cfm
MasterLine® Flexx Plus is a potent, dry water-soluble biostimulant with c=
helated micronutrients, beneficial bacteria and yucca extract wetting agent=
. The fast-acting MasterLine® Flexx Plus formula stimulates root growth, =
improves resistance to stress and disease, and promotes greener, denser tur=
f that plays more consistently.

http://www.ycdi.com/yucca_research_agricultural_uses.htm
INCREASING CELL WALL PERMEABILITY
At the University of Kentucky, research conducted by C.Grunwald demonstrate=
s how higher plant sterols (steroid saponins) influence the cell wall perm=
eability of plants (Ref.6).

In the journal, CRC Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, it stat=
es that, " the primary action of saponins upon cells is to cause a general =
increase in the permeability of the plasma membrane "(Ref.7).

Besides the steroidal and surfactant properties, the researchers in Belgium=
 suggested that saponins may act on the biological activity of other compou=
nds. More recent research on steroid saponins for other uses would suggest=
 that one of these activities is microbiological in nature.

INCREASES MICROBIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY
At the University of Miami, Ohio the applicability of Yucca schidigera extr=
act as a stress relief additive in aerobic waste-water treatment system was=
 investigated . It states: There is a massive proliferation of organisms du=
e to yucca extract addition during high pH, copper poison and oxygen starva=
tion stresses..." (Ref.8).

An enormous amount of research has been generated in Japan using yucca extr=
act to stimulate the microorganisms in waste-water sludge treatment. Sever=
al patents have been issued there, both citing use of yucca extract to enha=
nce microbiological activity (Ref. 9&10).

There is a myraid of research papers dealing with the effect of Yucca schid=
igera on intestinal microorganisms in animals. Most recently, the Rowett R=
esearch Institute in England showed that the beneficial gut bacteria were e=
nhanced while the ciliate protozoa were suppressed, thereby improving the m=
icrobial yield in the rumen and protein flow to the animal (Ref. 11).

In Milan Italy, at the Institute of Animal Nutrition, the addition of Yucca=
 schidigera to a probiotic had a positive effect on intestinal microflora,=
 decreasing in the number of pathogenic bacteria and increasing beneficial =
anaerobic and aerobic bacteria (Ref. 12).

Best regards,

Thomas Giannou
http://www.tandjenterprises.com

  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Kirk Leonard
  To: Compost Tea Group
  Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2003 3:28 PM
  Subject: [compost_tea] More Yucca & Saponin


  Well, since nobody answered my question about saponin from other yuccas
  besides schidigera (it's in every yucca in different concentrations) I di=
d
  some websearching today (even found a reference from our listserve at UNC=
!)
  and concluded we should NOT be using saponin in compost tea, to make a lo=
ng
  story short. Others may have already reached that conclusion...

  Saponin is both a good wetting agent/surfactant/emollient and an
  antibacterial/antifungal/antioxidation agent, produced by many plants, e.=
g.,
  yucca, agave, aloe, foxglove, chickweeds - including comfrey, ginseng,
  soybeans, acacia, willow, poplar... and many more -- for natural plant
  disease protection, it seems.

  Mexican and southwest US yucca (schidigera) appear to be the greatest
  producers, evolving saponin primarily to deal with water uptake in desert
  climes -- it helps itself and other plants take up and store water. So i=
t's
  a good emollient, used for centuries in soaps, but it also kills a bunch =
of
  organisms along the way (which is probably why it makes good soap... and
  foam in root beer...). The composttea reference indicated it reduced fun=
gal
  tea content by 45% or so. Are we learning from ourselves or what?

  There appear to be many beneficial human health effects of saponin (hey, =
it
  reduces aggravation in mice, kills ruminant protozoa, and can be both a
  laxative and an aphrodisiac..:), but appears not to be a good idea in
  compost tea. Do a google on it yourself and see what you think. Most
  useful query was "saponin and extract" as I recall. Interesting overview=
 at
  http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/sp-su98/saponins.html. Whole bunch more out
  there. Cholesterol and cancer stuff seem potentially real valuable to me=
.

  In the meantime, I think we should drop the idea of saponin as a viable
  compost tea sticker/spreader or nutrient. It may have some benefit as a
  natural biocide but not as a component of aerated compost tea, imo.

  -- Kirk























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Received on Sun Nov 30 2003 - 00:07:10 EST

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