Although hoodia is relatively new to the Western world, it has been used for centuries by the South African Bushmen - also known as the San tribe or San Bushmen. They have used it as a natural appetite suppressant to stave off hunger during long hunting trips.

Hoodia is a cactus-like plant that is native to the South African Kalahari Desert. It is important to note that while it looks very similar to a cactus, it is not technically classified as one. There are 13 varieties of hoodia, but only the hoodia gordonii variety has the potential ability to suppress appetite.

Hoodia gordonii grows up to seven feet tall and produces large, foul smelling flowers. The aroma of the flowers has been compared to rotting or burning flesh!

The San tribe will cut a 2-3 inch piece of the plant, peel it, and then eat it raw. In its raw form, a small piece of hoodia gordonii is all it takes to suppress appetite.

Intrigued by hoodia gordonii’s ability to suppress appetite, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) began studying the plant in the 1990’s. They isolated the active ingredient in hoodia gordonii responsible for its appetite suppressing abilities, and granted an exclusive license to it to British pharmaceutical company, Phytopharm, in 1997. That active ingredient has become known as P57.

Phytopharm partnered with Pfizer in hopes to synthesize P57 for the mass market but it proved to be too expensive and Pfizer pulled out of the deal in 2002. Today, Phytopharm is partnered with Unilever and they are working on ways to extract P57 from hoodia gordonii on a commercial basis. They hope to have a product for mass market in a couple of years.

Recommended Hoodia Resources:

HoodiaandWeightLoss.com - Learn everything you ever wanted to know about hoodia gordonii and supplements that contain them.