There are many known species of Hoodia, but the Gordonii species is the only one that contains the powerful all-natural appetite suppressant properties. A molecule named P57 is the active ingredient in Hoodia; it acts on the hypothalamus (the area of the brain that controls appetite and hunger) to “trick” the brain into thinking that you have already eaten and that you are full.
When you eat, food is converted into glucose (sugar), which acts on the brain to trigger the “full” feeling. The P57 in Hoodia acts in the same way, but the difference is that it is about 10,000 times more powerful than glucose is, so even small amounts of P57 can fool the brain into thinking that you have eaten and that you are full. After taking Hoodia, people have reported feeling full more quickly when eating, a delay in the time after eating before feeling hungry again, a reduced interest in food and eating, and a general feeling of well-being; and all of this is without any known unwanted side effects.
My next question, being a medical professional myself, is: Where is the proof that these claims are true? What clinical studies have been done? There is much interest in the extract P57 from several pharmaceutical companies who are trying to synthesize the appetite suppressing component of the Hoodia plant into a patentable diet drug in the future. It took the South African government 30 years to isolate and identify the active appetite-suppressing ingredient in Hoodia. In 1997, they obtained a patent and sold the rights to the patent to a British pharmaceutical company called Phytopharm. The company has completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study on overweight but otherwise healthy adult volunteers; each group was instructed to continue their normal diet and exercise routines. The study showed that Hoodia Gordonni led to a statistically significant reduction in calorie intake; on average, the group receiving Hoodia ate about 1000 calories less per day, which is enough to lose one pound of body fat every 3 to 4 days. You can read more about the research and development of Hoodia at Phytopharm’s website.
Researchers at Brown University Medical School also conducted research on the effects of Hoodia on Zucker rats (special rats that are bred to be obese and diabetic for use in clinical trials). The rats that were given Hoodia lost weight, and in some cases a reversal of diabetes was seen.
Everybody that markets and sells Hoodia supplements has a page of impressive testimonials on their websites or literature. Since Hoodia is not a drug, there are no FDA regulations on the claims that can be made, and there are few sophisticated clinical studies to compare. If you start trying to shop and compare the hundreds of products claiming to be Hoodia, it can get pretty confusing; to avoid being taken in by a scam and spending a lot of money on a worthless product that does not even contain enough Hoodia to cause beneficial results, take the time to do some research first. It would be great if the claims were true, but it almost sounds too good to be true. Don’t get taken in by the scams; as they say about gambling of any kind: don’t spend any more money than you can afford to lose and be without.
