Hoodia Gordonii: The All-Natural Appetite
Suppressant
It is difficult to trace out exactly since when
the tribes of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa
have been using the stem of the Hoodia Gordonii
plant to ward off their hunger. Hoodia grows wild
in Africa. A Dutch anthropologist was the first
European to describe the plant. In 1937, he was
studying the habits of nomadic hunters and noted
that they often ate the plant when food and water
were scarce. He mentioned that the Hoodia Gordonii
plant was not particularly tasty, but it had the
desirable effect of reducing appetite and thirst
and thereby can be produced an effective drug to
reduce weight.
The Secret Is Unfolded!
It was not until 1963 that an organized study of
Hoodia Gordonii was performed. Scientists at the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in
South Africa reported that laboratory animals which
were fed on the Hoodia plant lost weight. Sometime
in the 1990’s the scientists in South Africa were
able to attract the interest of a British
pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm. Eventually,
through a joint effort, they were able to isolate
and identify the active molecule in Hoodia Gordonii
and named it ‘p57’. In 1995, Phytopharm licensed
and patented ‘p57’. Phytopharm reportedly spent
more than $20 million dollars researching the
effects of the ‘p57’ molecule found in the Hoodia
Gordonii plant before they sub-licensed the rights
to Pfizer in 1998. One of the major production
problems is the limited availability of Hoodia
Gordonii. The Gordonii plant requires extremely
high temperatures to flourish and it takes four to
five years to mature. Phytopharm is now working
with Uni-lever and has established Hoodia Gordonii
plantations in South Africa.
Experts make the following recommendations for
overweight people interested in trying Gordonii
supplements. The length of time to experience the
appetite suppressing effects may occur quickly,
even following the first dose, but some people do
not notice a significant difference until after
taking the supplement for several weeks. In
addition, the recommended dosage may need to be
adjusted up or down depending on the individual.
There are no adverse side effects associated with
Hoodia Gordonii.