Hoodia Gordonii a natural appetite suppressant: Hoodia Gordonii was derived from the latin name, but it is known by other names such as Xhooba, Ghaap and Hoodia, South African desert cactus, Khoba and Hoodia cactus. Hoodia is pronounced as Hoo-dee-ah and is a plant that looks like a cactus. It is cultivated in most parts of Angola, Botswana and Namibia and in the semi-deserts of South Africa.

In the past, hoodia has been promoted a great deal for weight loss and has been widely accepted. Even though the weight loss industry has come under heavy fire after the ephdra controversy, the market was on a whole ready and eagerly awaiting the subsequent weight loss product.

To a great extent, hoodia’s reputation branches out from statements of the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. They depended on hoodia for a number of years to keep at bay the desire to eat and longing to drink liquids for the duration of their extensive hunting expeditions.

Hoodia Gordonii is cultivated in clusters of green erect stalks. Even though it is frequently called a cactus for the reason that it looks a lot like one, hoodia is as a matter of fact a juicy plant. It takes as long as five years for hoodia gordonii’s pale purple flowers to be seen and then the plant can be yielded.

The different types of Hoodia Gordonii: There are more than 13 varieties of Hoodia. The solitary dynamic element acknowledged up to now is a steroidal glycoside that has been labeled “p57″.

The accountability of Hoodia Gordonii: A Dutch anthropologist studied the San Bushmen in the year 1937 and made a note of their use of Hoodia Gordonii, to curb their hunger. Later on, down the years in 1963, scientists at South Africa’s National Laboratory, at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), set in motion their research on Hoodia, wherein they claimed that the animals in their laboratory lost quite a considerable amount of weight after they were given Hoodia Gordonii.

There were some South African scientists operating with a British company named Phytopharm. They secluded what they assumed to be a dynamic element in Hoodia Gordonii, a steroidal glycoside, which they labeled p57. After acquiring a patent in the year 1995, they accredited p57 to the company Phytopharm. Phytopharm has splurged an amount in excess of $20 million on the research of Hoodia. Later, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer heard about Hoodia and showed some curiosity in creating a Hoodia medicine. In the year 1998, Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to create p57 to Pfizer Company for a whopping $21 million. Pfizer gave back the rights of Hoodia to Phytopharm, who is currently working with Unilever.

Is this exotic cactus really the best appetite suppressant?

To a large extent the publicity about Hoodia happened subsequent to the report by the 60 Minutes reporter Leslie Stahl and crew, who journeyed on to Africa to consume Hoodia. They took on rent a local Bushman to set out with them into the barren region and unearth a quantity of Hoodia. Stahl consumed it, explaining it had a quality of a cucumber. She made a statement that she had lost the craving to eat or drink the whole day. She also alleged that she did not sense any instant side effects, such as digestive disorders or heart tremors.