hoodia gordonii | What is Hoodia Gordonii?

What is Hoodia Gordonii?

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Hoodia gordonii is a naturally occurring cactus-like plant found mainly in the Northern Cape regions of South Africa and Southern Namibia. It can survive a wide range of temperatures- above 40C in the desert areas, but can withstand temperatures as low as -3C. The plant is tolerant of a wide range of growing habitats, examples being Kalahari Desert sands, dry stony slopes or flats or under the shelter of xerophytic bushes.

In its early development, only one stem is produced but at a later stage the plant begins to branch until in maturity they may have as many as 50 separate branches and could weigh up to 30 kg. When the plant grows under ideal conditions, it can attain a height of nearly one metre and flowers are formed on the top part of the plant. The flowers it produces are large in size but have a pungent, rotten meat smell to them. The flowers vary in colour from pale straw to a dark maroon and are normally produced in late summer.

Hoodia gordonii was discovered by a man named Paterson who was accompanied at the time by a Col. R.F. Gordon in December 1778, in an area that is now called Upington, which is in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. Mr Francis Masson, a famous botanist who sailed to South Africa with James Cook on the HMS Resolution in 1772, was credited to giving the plant its original Latin name- stapelia gordonii with the specific epithet named after Col. Gordon. In 1830 the species was later transferred into the genus Hoodia, which was named after Van Hood, a keen succulent grower.

Hoodia gordonii is one of thirteen varieties of the hoodia plant, several of which can be eaten raw (after the spines have been removed, obviously!), which are actually classed as succulents and not cacti. The different species of hoodia plants have been used for millennia by different tribes in Southern Africa for medicinal purposes, ranging in use from indigestion remedies to cures for minor infections.

Hoodia gordonii has also been known for many years as a natural appetite suppressant and was said to be used originally by tribesmen to suppress their appetites during long hunting trips. This suppressant is known to help by fooling the body into feeling full while still encouraging metabolism to work correctly and efficiently. These appetite suppressant properties have now been isolated and Hoodia derived products are now sold in many western countries where obesity is becoming a major health problem.

While we have known about hoodia gordonii for a long time, it wasn’t studied or researched properly until South African scientists in 1963 came up with some very promising initial results. The scientists joined up with a British company by the name of Phytopharm and following some serious research, they managed to isolate the active ingredient of hoodia- a steroidal glycoside they named p57. What they found out was that the chemical structure of p57 enables it to somehow ‘fool’ the brain into thinking that the molecules of p57 are really molecules of glucose, meaning the hypothalamus part of the brain doesn’t send out signals that the body needs a further source of energy. This happens because basically, when you eat, your blood sugar levels increase, prompting the body to start sending signals back to the brain that you are now full.


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