Hoodia History

The use of Hoodia Gordonii, historically, is expressed well by a member of the San People when he said, "I learned to how to eat it from my forefathers. It is my food, my water and also a medicine for me. We San use the plant during hunting to fight off the pain of hunger and thirst."

Hoodia Gordonii has been very useful to these Bushman to survive in the harsh and dry environment of the Kalahari and it is safe to use as shown by the San people's multi-generational use of it.

And for thousands of years, only the San people knew of Hoodia Gordonii's remarkable properties. Then, in the 1930s, an anthropologist from Holland went to study these desert people and became aware of the Hoodia plant and its possibilities. He was impressed immediately and wrote about the plant in his observations of the San people. Still, it would take decades before any serious interest would be taken in Hoodia Gordonii as a supplement for weight loss, weight control and dieting.

Not before the beginning of the obesity epidemic in the 1960s, African governments began to research Hoodia in earnest as an appetite suppressant, to keep people from feeling hungry. Scientists identified the active molecule in Hoodia and patented the molecule. The recent history of Hoodia scientific research starts with the finding of this molecule. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) licensed a British pharmaceutical company to continue investigation of Hoodia safety and effectiveness. This company sublicensed the rights to Pfizer, who returned the rights after closing their branch which dealt with plants and naturally occurring substances. Pfizer stated that they believed another company would be better equipped to continue research into Hoodia safety and effectiveness. The history of Hoodia and scientific study, for now, ends here.

Since the 60s, rates of obesity throughout the world have skyrocketed to the point where, today, over 50 % of adult Europeans are overweight and over 20% are obese. Since the 60s, many diet pills have come onto the market. Most of these pills contained stimulant drugs which carried serious health risks of their own, plus were often addictive. Some supplements, such as ephedra, had people risking heart attacks and death simply to lose weight. For generations, the San Bushmen have eaten Hoodia to control both hunger and thirst as they roam the Kalahari desert. They would consume the raw plant over long desert journeys, allowing them to eat and drink almost nothing for long periods of time and not feel hungry or thirsty. There was no question about Hoodia's safety. They have suffered no ill effects from consuming this plant. It has also been used by the San to treat abdominal cramps, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.