Hoodia: Health Issues and Studies About Its Effects

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When Hoodia arrived in the United States, it took the diet and fitness market by storm. The National Institutes of Health lists Hoodia as a succulent plant that grows in the Kalahari Desert, in Southern Africa. Hoodia Gordonii is the species that most often winds up in diet pills in the U.S. The dried plant is the primary component of capsules and tablets that dietary supplement makers market as an appetite suppressant. Researchers in South Africa isolated a component they named P57. After they obtained a patent for P57 as a natural appetite suppressant, they granted a license to Phytopharm, a British pharmaceutical company, in 1997.

The vendors who promote Hoodia as a diet supplement have made numerous unfounded claims that have little or no scientific evidence to back them. The Mayo Clinic cautions consumers that drugs must undergo rigorous trials before they are released to the public. However, the Food and Drug Administration does not regulate dietary supplements, although it will investigate consumer complaints. According to WebMD, it appears that chemicals in this plant trigger a sensation of fullness in the brain. Like Mayo Clinic, they express concern that clinical trials are limited to one study of seven participants.

The problem for consumers is that the manufacturer’s formulas contain varying amounts of Hoodia. Some formulas mix Hoodia with green tea and chromium or other minerals. In 2003, the BBC reported that random tests of popular Hoodia products revealed that many did not contain enough Hoodia to have any significant benefit. The Hoodia Plant grows in the wild, only in the arid Kalahari climate. Since getting the Hoodia license, Phytopharm has not attempted to market pills or tablets as a diet aid. They have concentrated their efforts on increasing cultivation of the plant to produce enough yields for commercial production.

Drugs.com states that people in the Kalahari have consumed Hoodia in its naturally occurring form for centuries. However, their use appears to have been for short periods. Side effects, if any could become a problem when Hoodia is combined with other ingredients and after long-term use. No one knows how Hoodia interacts with prescription and over the counter medicines, because this has not been investigated by scientists. In 2004, Brown University’s Dr. David McLean published the results of his studies of Hoodia’s effectiveness. However, his conclusions were not well received by the medical community because he had only tested Hoodia’s effects on animals. In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission issued cease and desist orders against spammers who market the product through email, citing unproven claims of Hoodia’s effectiveness.

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