The Hoodia Gordonii plant was first discovered by a Dutch
anthropologist in 1937. He was sent to study the habits of the
nomadic bushmen of the Kalahari Desert in South Africa, and found that they would often eat the plant when
food and water became scarce. He found that the Hoodia Gordonii plant had
the effect of reducing thirst and appetite, making it an ideal
weight loss supplement. It's not known exactly when the tribesmen of the
Kalahari began using the the Hoodia plant to stave off hunger.
The Secret Unfolds!
In 1963, scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research in South Africa began an organized study of Hoodia Gordonii.
They fed the Hoodia plant to laboratory animals, and soon discovered that
these animals
began to lose weight. It wasn't until the 1990’s that the South African
scientists were able to attract the interest of Phytopharm, a
pharmaceutical company in Britain In time, through a joint collaboration, they
were able to identify and then isolate the active molecule, 'p57' in Hoodia..
Phytopharm obtained a patent and license for ‘p57’in 1995. They
reportedly spent over $20 million dollars conducting research on the
effects of the ‘p57’ molecule, before sub-licensing the rights to Pfizer
in 1998. Due to limited availability of Hoodia Gordonii, however, large
scale production became a major hurdle. The Hoodia plant requires very
high temperatures to survive and flourish, and 4 to5
years to reach maturity. Phytopharm has since joined forces with Uni-lever
and has established Hoodia Gordonii plantations throughout South Africa.
For anyone who is interested in trying Hoodia Gordonii supplements, experts say
that the appetite suppressing
effects can occur fairly quickly. Some people, however, don't notice a
significant difference until they have taken the supplement for several
weeks. Also, depending on the individual, the recommended dosage might
need to be adjusted. No adverse side effects have yet to be associated with the
use of Hoodia.
