Nutritional Supplement
Hoodia
Parts Used & Where Grown
Hoodia is a succulent plant that looks like a cactus. A member of the milkweed family, hoodia is native to the Kalahari desert in the southern tip of Africa, principally in the nations of South Africa and Namibia. The plant's latex and inner parts are used, with the spines removed.
How It Works
A South African government agency, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), found that a compound found only in hoodia’s latex and inner flesh, steroidal glycoside (called P57), was able to suppress appetite in animals. This effect was clearly related to effects in the brain as opposed to the stomach.1 One small clinical study has been completed by Phytopharm, a company that bought the exclusive licenses to develop and market P57 from CSIR. This study involved 19 overweight men using P57 and found that P57 did reduce their food intake significantly compared with a placebo. The details of this study have not yet been published in any medical journal, so its conclusions cannot yet be evaluated for accuracy.