Hoodia gordonii is one of 13 species of plants which is a part of the plant family Apocynaceae. This plant is very spiny, which makes it similar to the cactus, and it is leafless. The flower is known for its strong odor, and it can only be found naturally in the southern part of Africa.
In the late 1970s, the CSIR, or South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, successfully isolated an ingredient within Hoodia gordonii which they believe is responsible for suppressing the appetite. Phytopharm gave a license to the CSIR, and since that time, scientists have continued isolating various ingredients from the plant which could potentially be used for various medical purposes.
In 2002, Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, relinquished the rights which they had over P57, the central ingredient. The company made the statement that they stopped development of P57 due to the challenges involved with synthesizing it.
In 2002, it should also be noted that the CSIR gave the San tribal people of Africa control rights over Hoodia gordonii, and this means the people there earn a profit from any money which is generated from the plant. The plant is subject to strict regulations, and it can only be grown by people or companies who have been given a license.
One thing that is certain about Hoodia gordonii is that the plant has enormous medical potential. The plant has been used by the native tribes of Africa for thousands of years, and many researchers fimly believe that if they can isolate certain ingredients and synthesize them, they can be mass produced and sold for an enormous profit.
In addition to this, people who suffer from some health problems could use Hoodia gordonii as a natural alternative rather than the synthetic products which are currently available on the market today.
It is known that Hoodia gordonii is useful in dealing with various digestive issues and other illnesses, and this is why weight loss researches have focused on it as being an alternative to standard weight loss pills.
However, Hoodia gordonii is not without its problems. One of the reasons why Pfizer relinquished their rights to the plant is because they had enormous challenges in properly synthesizing the ingredient P57. They also found that their were other ingredients attached to this one which could potentially cause liver issues.
The difficulty in removing these ingredients from P57 caused many researchers to believe that if would be difficult for the supplements to be accepted by the FDA. However, research has been done since 2002 to bypass these problems and isolate P57 from the harmful ingredients.