Hoodia gordonii is a cactus which grows wild in the Kalahari desert, a northern region of South Africa. It has been used since prehistoric times by the San tribesmen there who chew it to stave off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips.

In 1977, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) isolated the ingredient in hoodia (now known as ‘P57’) responsible for this appetite-suppressant effect and patented it. The CSIR then granted a British company, Phytopharm, a license to market Hoodia. Phytopharm quickly teamed up with the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to develop a drug, sales of which could reach billions of euros when it is launched in 2008. In 2002, however, in accordance with the Convention on Biodiversity, the San tribespeople’s rights over Hoodia were officially recognized by the CSIR, allowing them to take a percentage of the profits and any spin-offs resulting from the marketing of Hoodia.
Hoodia gordonii is a protected plant which can only be wild-harvested by individuals and the few companies who have been granted a license. The sun, the environment and the climate of the Kalahari play a vital role in producing a high-quality Hoodia plant. Smart City has gone to considerable trouble and expense to obtain, direct from the Kalahari desert, the exact form of wild Hoodia gordonii used by the San, the efficacy of which has been demonstrated in a number of scientific studies. The 20:1 extract factory-produced in China, offered by some other companies, is not the plant used in the studies and costs considerably less per kg than the whole plant, yet is apparently 20 times more concentrated … spot the mistake!

Hoodi gordonii is so effective at suppressing the appetite that daily calorie intake can be reduced by around 35%. The P57 molecule works by sending the brain a signal that you are full. The consequent reduction in calorie intake frequently results in considerable weight loss. Such is the significance and frequency of these effects that giants such as Pfizer are investing vast sums in Hoodia. Hoodia has no known side effects and is caffeine-free. Hoodia users often lose two to four kilos within the first two weeks of taking it, without feeling the stress or fatigue generally associated with low-calorie diets. In America, there is a constant search for a miracle product that will stem the obesity epidemic they are facing. In November 2004, the CBS programme ’60 Minutes’ featured a favourable report on Hoodia which immediately sparked a buying frenzy. The CBS programme quite rightly pointed out that the majority of products sold in the US in fact contained very little - sometimes none - of the form of Hoodia gordonii shown to be effective. At Supersmart, we have successfully secured a reliable source of the genuine product and invite you to check the certificates of analysis and origin available on the website.

 

 

Alternative spelling/keywords : appetite suppressants