What goodness is contained in Hoodia Gordonii?
Hoodia (pronounced HOO-dee-ah) is a cactus-like plant that grows primarily in the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. In the last few years, hoodia has been heavily marketed for weight loss and has become immensely popular. Although there has always been a demand for diet pills, after the ban on the herb ephedra, the market was particularly ripe for the next new diet pill. Much of hoodia’s popularity stems from claims that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari desert relied on hoodia for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips. They were said to have cut off the stem and eat the bitter-tasting plant. Despite its popularity, there are no published randomized controlled trials in humans to show hoodia is safe or effective in pill form. One study published in the September 2004 issue of Brain Research found that injections of p57 into the appetite center of rat brains resulted in altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule that may affec
Hoodia gordonii is a leafless spiny succulent plant with medicinal uses. It grows naturally in South Africa and Namibia. The flowers smell like rotten meat and are pollinated mainly by flies. The indigenous Bushmen call this plant ǁhoba (pronounced [ǁʰɔbɑ]; the initial sound is a lateral click). Hoodia gordonii was discovered and painted by col. Robert Jacob Gordon in the vicinity of the Orange River in about 1779, and identified as a Stapelia, a closely related genus. Medicinal uses The use of Hoodia spp. has long been known by the indigenous populations of Southern Africa, who infrequently use these plants for treating indigestion and small infections. However, it is their centuries old use of the meat of the plant to suppress appetite when making long hunting trips in the Kalahari Desert that has stimulated the most interest. In 1977, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) isolated the ingredient in hoodia—now known as P57—which is responsible for it
