What is Hoodia Gordonii?

With all of the hype, there is a lot of question as to what “hoodia” really is, and if it really is as good for weight loss as it would appear. These are honest questions, and ones that deserve honest answers.

Hoodia is a genus of succulent plants in the family Apocynaceae that is widely used traditionally by the San people of southern Africa as an appetite suppressant, thirst quencher and as a cure for severe abdominal cramps,  hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes. Various uses have been recorded among Anikhwe (Northern Botswana), Hai om (northern Namibia), Khomani (north western South Africa), and the !Xun and Khwe (originally from Angola ) communities. Less is known about the use of this group of plants by other indigenous people, but some records show limited use of hoodia parts as  food items, albeit not as preferred food items (hoodia has a strong taste, and one that does not seem to meet with most people's palate). Hoodia is known to be used for cultural purposes in some areas (Hargreaves and Turner, 2002). Although relatively difficult to cultivate, hoodia are attractive plants and are also used for horticultural purposes.

Hoodia was first brought to the attention of the scientific community when a Dutch archaeologist studying the Bushmen noted that they used the plant before going on long hunts (it enjoys that use even today). It wasn't fully explored, however, until the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research became curious how the Bushmen survived in the toxic environment of the Kalahari (evaporation from the nearby marshes causes salt to cover the desert and contaminate the groundwater). CSIR looked at the various foods of the Bushmen diet, noting that hoodia acted as a natural hunger and thirst suppressant.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa isolated an active compound (P57) for appetite suppression from H. gordonii. The CSIR licensed the rights for further development of P57 and the setting up of a sustainable production system to Phytopharm in the UK. Phytopharm in turn sub licensed the rights to Pfizer and then Unilever for development and global commercialization. It has proven to be a source of funds for the Bushmen, as they are given royalties from its harvest.

Hoodia has since been the target of media scrutiny, and has held up well against it. As a herb that has no known side effects, it appears perched to take on the diet supplement market, limited only by how much is harvested each year (currently at fifty tons, with eighty tons planned next year).