Belonging to a flowering plant family, Apocynaceae, Hoodia is one of the 13 species in the family. Often it is mistaken for a cactus because it looks like a cactus but actually it is a stem succulent. It reaches to a meter in height and has large flowers. Its flower has a tan color and has strong smell. They are naturally found in the Namib Desert of Africa spread across the Central Namibia to the southern Angola. Hoodia gordonii, one of the 13 species of Hoodia has been investigated for its use by local inhabitants as an appetite suppressant. Since then Hoodia has been marketed extensively as a weight loss product across the world. The originators of this knowledge are the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. The plant is harvested after it begins to flower which takes five years. The San Bushmen have been using the plant for centuries for various purposes such as indigestion and for the treatment of small infections besides being taken for long hunting trips as an appetite suppressant.
A Dutch anthropologist had noted the San Bushmen using Hoodia gordonii in 1937. The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) began studying the plant in 1977 and isolated the principal ingredient, a steroidal glycoside, responsible for its effect as an appetite suppressant. They named it P57 and obtained patent for this in 1996. It was only in 2002, after the issue was raked up that CSIR formally recognized the San people’s rights making them eligible for a share of the profits from marketing of Hoodia and any spin offs from this. CSIR licensed P57 to Phytopharm in 1995 who spent about $20 million on Hoodia research. In 1998 Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to Pfizer for $21 million but returned the rights back to Phytopharm who is collaborating with Unilever.
Hoodia sent waves of excitement only when BBC reported on the discovery of the plant and its use in 2003 which 60 Minutes followed it up with a field story in 2004. Many companies launched products that claimed to contain Hoodia. The products were in different forms including tablets, capsules, coffee and infusions, liquid tinctures, protein shakes, syrups and even diet fruit bars. There are products such as Hoodia Supreme which marketed the product with the catch phrase as nature’s benefit Hoodia Supreme.
Hoodia was placed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) making it a plant that is threatened with extinction if its international trade is not regulated. The trade in Hoodia now come under the CITES related certification which also makes it possible to verify its genuineness.
We all gain a lot of benefits from nature. That is why, we all need to act as stewards of nature and take care of it.
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