Hoodia gordonii is a rare, succulent plant that resembles the columnar cactus and is found in the Kalahari Deserts of South Africa. Hoodia has gained recent attention in North America and it is marketed and sold alone, and in combination with other herbs, as a weight loss aid. As with any herbal product, you should talk to your health-care practitioner before taking hoodia diet pills.
History of Hoodia
It is claimed that the San bushmen of South Africa would eat hoodia to stave off hunger during long hunts. In 1963 a South African project evaluated hoodia's appetite suppressant effects and in 1980, an active ingredient in hoodia was isolated. In 1995, the active ingredient was patented in South Africa under the name P57. The drug company Pfizer signed a sublicense, allowing it to further investigate and develop P57 into a marketable weight loss drug, however Pfizer relinquished this license in 2003 to the company Phytopharm. Since 2003, hoodia products have been marketed for their purported ability to reduce appetite and are sold worldwide as an herbal weight loss product.
Preliminay Study on Humans
P57 is thought to stimulate sensations of fullness and satiety; however, its precise mechanism of action remains unknown, states "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database." According to a Dec. 5, 2001 Phytopharm press release, preliminary research suggests that overweight men who consume P57 have a significantly lower calorie intake than those taking a placebo pill. This study was conducted by Phytopharm and was never published, however.
Potential Mechinism of Action
As of 2011, there is only one published report confirming the efficacy of P57 as an appetite suppressant. The 2004 edition of "Brain Research" journal cited a study where male rats were injected with P57. The food intake of the rats was reduced by between 50 and 60 percent over a twenty-four hour period. The study hypothesized that P57 reduces appetite by normalizing hypothalamic function. The hypothalamus is a region of the brain that is considered the main control center for the autonomic nervous system, and plays a central role in regulating sleep, body temperature and appetite.
Considerations
More research needs to be done to confirm the efficacy of hoodia as a weight loss aid. If you are going to buy a hoodia diet pill, make sure that you purchase it from a reputable company, because samples of certain hoodia products have found that they contain no actual hoodia, states drugs.com. Hoodia is an endangered species and most legitimate hoodia products are expensive due to this fact. No reported drug interactions or adverse reactions have been reported from hoodia, however pregnant and breastfeeding women should not take this herb, due to insufficient evidence regarding its safety.
References
- "Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database"; Therapeutic Research Faculty; 2011
- Drugs.com: Hoodia
- "Brain Research"; Increased ATP Content/Production in the Hypothalamus May Be a Signal For Energy-Sensing of Satiety: Studies of the Anorectic Mechanism of a Plant Steroidal Glycoside; MacLean DB et al; 2004;1020:1-11
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