Yucca plants are native to the Southwestern deserts of North America. There are several dozen different species of yucca plants. Yucca plants typically have long, narrow leaves with sharp needle-like points on the end. The leaves radiate out from the base of the yucca plant. Yucca roots and leaves are said to have compounds that relieve inflammation and joint pain. Research suggests that yucca has anti-inflammatory properties, which reduces the pain of arthritis.

The yucca plant has a rich history in the Southwestern United States, primarily amongst Native American tribes who used yucca plants for a plethora of purposes including medicine, food, and soap. When yucca roots were beaten into a salve, the salve was applied to treat sprains or sores on the skin. Taken internally, yucca was used as a sedative to induce sleep. Extracts from Yucca made excellent shampoos and soaps, its roots having a high content of natural saponins (natural hormonal materials). Yucca lathers easily, holding moisture close to the skin. But Yucca has great medicinal value as well. Yucca has demonstrated an ability to encourage helpful and friendly intestinal bacteria while discouraging the formation of "bad" or foreign bacterial colonies. By stimulating friendly flora and inhibiting others, nutritional entities are more quickly and efficiently absorbed while decreasing the amount of toxins available for absorption.

The saponins (similar to the steroid cortisone but much safer) in Yucca also provide a healthy alkalinity to an otherwise acid-ridden system for toxic impurities. Yucca is thus thought to be effective as an agent against arthritis and rheumatism, diminishing the amount of toxins which may build up around and within the joints, diminishing inflammation effectively. Yucca is also thought to be effective in conditions such as urethritis and prostatitis.