Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Five minutes on the internet have lead to some interesting information. The term "salicylate" in relation to planes is seems to refer to salicylic acid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid which is a compound common in all plants in low amounts and acts as a plant hormone (controlling growth). It has a similar but different chemical structure as acetylsalicylic acid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid.  Aspirin is synthesized through a chemical reaction between salicylic acid and methyl anhydride.  We actually did that in my high school chemistry class many moons ago.

Salicylates are also present in many fruits and vegetables - some at very high levels.

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/06/02/08/what-are-salicylates-could-salicylates-be-zapping-your-energy-and-making-you-feel-ill.htm#chart

So could someone tell me that if my horse is going to test positive if I given them a grape or apple or carrot!

For those that give your horse some sort of vegetable based oil say corn, peanut or olive as a supplement - better watch out you are also giving  your horse silicylate -

http://www.zipworld.com.au/~ataraxy/Salicylates_list.html

So after five minutes I have more question than answers on yucca - why is yucca identified when say granny smith apples which are very high in saliclyic acid are not?  Sounds to me the "yucca" issue is nothing more than folklore, old wives tales, fear and superstition - having zero to do with the proper use of science to formulate a drug policy. Salicylatic acid is not acetysaliclic acid. Salicylatic acid is not aspirin. Salicylatic acid is not only in Yucca but is in just about all fruits and vegetables. In reality giving my horse a granny smith apple a day or using corn oil on his/her feed probably contains more salicylatic acid than in whatever Yucca goes in a animal feed supplement.

While the new drug rule is better than the old - it's only half way there to a good drug rule.

Truman

Lynn Kinsky wrote:

On May 6, 2009, at 12:21 PM, Truman Prevatt wrote:

 So my question to the AERC is which Yucca is banned or more precisely what compound that is extracted from Yucca and which Yucca is banned.

I seem to remember this discussion coming up several years ago and the questionable components were the salicylates in all?yucca which could possibly  be picked up on a sensitive drug test  or might even be present in high enough quantity to be effective (hence its inclusion in "natural" anti-inflammatory/anti-arthritic products -- herbal aspirin).

Lynn Kinsky, Santa Ynez, CA
ranch:  http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky/
http://www.joyofriding.org/

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"Say what you will about the ten commandments, you must always come back to the pleasant fact that there are only ten of them."  H.L. Mencken