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After thousands of years use by the San tribes, you won't be surprised that eventually someone noticed.
In the 1960's the CSIR (The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa) started working to test indigenous plants to determine whether they had any commercial or medicinal value.
Conducting scientific studies on Hoodia Gordonii, they discovered that when they fed Hoodia to animals, they lost weight. Even in the 1960's, they realized that this could be an important discovery, so they started working to understand Hoodia better.
It took 30 more years of work for the CSIR to isolate and identify the specific appetite suppressing part of the hoodia.
As soon as the CSIR identified the specific molecules of Hoodia that made it work, they then went about acquiring patents Worldwide.
Note: the CSIR patents are on the extract of the active molecule in Hoodia, and NOT Hoodia itself. It is impossible to patent a plant.
So the CSIR had something that could be of fantastic benefit to some of the World ... but the challenge they had was insufficient facilities, know-how or money to develop the 'extract' of Hoodia.
The answer was to lease the extract patent to the UK company Phytopharm in 1997. It was Phytopharm who gave the name to active molecule in Hoodia Gordonii - P57 (it was their 57th project).
Phytopharm in partnership with first Pfizer and lately Unilever has spent over $20 million dollars so far on research, including clinical trials. It is Unilever who now share the leased patent and who plan to release products containing Hoodia extract from 2009 onwards.
Note: While Phytopharm, Unilever and the CSIR own/share the patent for the Hoodia extract - it is perfectly legal for other companies to sell powdered Hoodia as a herbal product.
In your brain is an organ called the Hypothalamus. The Hypothalamus is the part of your brain that controls your appetite.
As you eat, the glucose levels in your body rise. As these glucose levels rise, the hypothalamus senses the changes and sends off a signal to slow down or stop eating. This is when you start to feel full, and slow down or stop eating.
Hoodia Gordonii's molecule P57, has been shown to have the same effects that glucose has on your brain, causing you to want to eat less.
Phytopharm conducted the first trials with rats. Known for eating more or less anything, when given Hoodia they stopped eating completely.
When Phytopharm conducted the first human clinical trial in 2001, the subjects also reacted positively. A morbidly obese group of people were held in a 'Phase 1 Unit' for fifteen days. A 'Phase 1 Unit' is a controlled closed environment where people can only read, watch television or eat - exercise is strictly ruled out.
Half of this group were given Hoodia and the other half, a placebo (a capsule with no active ingredients). After the fifteen days the group on the Hoodia had reduced their calorific intake by 1000 a day while suffering no negative effects.
Note: A daily reduction of 1,000 calories will on average produce 2 pounds a week weight loss.
Since these initial studies, Phytopharm working in partnership with Unilever have progressed with 'Stage 2' activities including successful progression of clinical safety trials.
In 2007 Phytopharm announced Stage 3 activities including further safety and consumer studies to fully evaluate calorie reductions as part of a weight management program.
The conclusion then, as the next step is evaluating Hoodia as part of a weight management program, is that they have sufficient confidence in hoodia effectiveness to further invest time and money.
Now remember ... what Phytopharm and Unilever are developing is an extract from P57, the active ingredient in Hoodia. They will be 'extracting' the active P57 molecules from Hoodia and adding it to other products. This is why they have to conduct such extensive safety trials, as what they will be selling is a product with an unknown ingredient. After all, no one will ever have taken P57 without all the other supporting natural ingredients within the plant.
The Hoodia products available since 2002 use Hoodia powder. Grown, harvested, dried and then sold as a 20:1; 15:1 powder (the ratio between the plant weight and dry powder weight).
Sometimes referred to as an extract in botanical terms, it is not the same as the extract that Unilever and Phytopharm are talking about. This is why there are many companies selling Hoodia based products. In essence, the Hoodia products now available (well, the genuine ones at least) offer the nearest thing to what the San tribes have been enjoying for centuries.
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