The Science of Hoodia
Government researchers in South Africa have focused on compounds called sterol glycosides, which are present in Hoodia gordonii. Hoodia gordonii whole powder contains fiber, antioxidants, organic material and biologically active substances. The pharmaceutical industry has been so impressed by the research findings with Hoodia gordonii that there have been several multi-million dollar deals in an effort to make drugs or food additives from constituents of Hoodia gordonii. Making a drug from Hoodia is not consistent with its traditional usage as an appetite suppressant by native South Africans.

The consumption of Hoodia gordonii over thousands of years by the San bushmen has created a great precedent for the safety of the Hoodia plant, but it does not create precedence for the safety or of the effectiveness of a “drug derivative”. Hoodia does not contain dangerous stimulant molecules, but it does contain substances that may mimic the effects of glucose on nerve cells in the brain. Controlled laboratory and clinical experiments have shown much promise in Hoodia for weight control. Some experiments have also shown that obese people taking Hoodia have reduced their calorie intake by an amazing amount of one thousand calories per day.