Want To Reduce Weight, There Is Hoodia
Hoodia gordonii is a flowering plant that belongs to the family Apocynaceae. It is a plant that reaches up to 1 meter in height. It has large purple or tan color flowers with strong smell. It is also called locally xhooba, Ghaap and khoba. It is also known as ‘Queen of the Namib’ and ‘Bushman’s Hat’. Hoodia is found naturally in Southern Africa in the semi-deserts of the countries of Namibia, South Africa, Botswana and Angloa. It is particular to the Namib Desert.
The San Bushmen who inhabit the Kalahari Desert have always known about the various uses of hoodia. They are known to consume the stems of hoodia plant during the long drawn hunt that takes them far away often without sight of food for days. The plant suppresses their urge to eat and drink. They also use the plant for treating various other health problems such as severe abdominal cramps, diabetes, hemorrhoids, hypertension, tuberculosis and indigestion. There are varieties of hoodia plants, about twenty of them. of them, it is only hoodia gordonii that is found to contain hunger. The plant flowers after about five years.
The outside world came to know about the use of hoodia when a Dutch anthropologist reported it in 1937. But it was not until 1963 that scientist began to examine this. The scientists of CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), the national laboratory of South Africa, along with the scientist of Phytopharm, a British company, conducted various studies. They were also able to identify and isolate its principal ingredient, a steroidal glycoside, which they named it as p57. Later it began to be sold in the liquid and capsule form all over the world. It gained popularity as hoodia p57. Hoodia is found to suppress appetite when it sends signals to the brain that strongly suggests that the stomach is full. This kills the appetite making the obese people to eat less.
With hoodia becoming popular, the plant was indiscriminately harvested from its natural habitat. This led CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), to declare the plant as facing the risk of being included as an endangered species. CITES included it in Appendix II. This meant that its trade had to be controlled. The Botanic Gardens Conservation International listed the plant in 2008 as facing extinction due to indiscriminate extraction by traders. Hoodia soon began to be cultivated under government control in farms in Kalahari Desert. It also helped to ensure that the San Bushmen also received benefits from the royalty.
