Safety of Hoodia
Hoodia gordonii, a succulent plant that grows primarily in the deserts of Africa, is the source for a heavily marketed appetite suppressant. No conclusive tests have proved either its safety or the absence of side effects. Some in the health care community have expressed concerns about its use. The popularity of the diet pills stems from assertions that the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert of South Africa have chewed the stem of the plant for thousands of years to ward off hunger and thirst during long hunting trips.
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Research History
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The first official study of the effects of hoodia began in 1963 in South Africa's national laboratory. According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), lab animals given hoodia gordonii lost weight. These South African scientists, working with the British pharmaceutical company Phytopharm, isolated the active ingredient in hoodia, which became known as p57. Phytopharm obtained a license from CSIR in 1995 to conduct further research on p57. They in turn sold the development and marketing rights to the giant U.S. corporation Pfizer, which has since returned the rights to Phytopharm.
Preliminary Studies
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Besides the early test with lab rats, Phytopharm carried out a double-blind study with overweight subjects in 2001. The company reported favorable results on weight loss, as well as a lack of side effects. However, the number of volunteers was small, the study did not cover long-term effects, and it was not reviewed by scientific peers. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulates dietary supplements as foods and does not hold them to the same safety standards as drugs and over-the-counter medications, the agency is not yet satisfied that hoodia is effective but harmless, until more thorough testing occurs.
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Media Reports
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A few years ago the CBS television network sent correspondent Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes to the Kalahari to sample the native plant and report on her reaction. She claimed she experienced no hunger for almost 24 hours. Other reporters soon followed. Tom Mangold of the BBC News enthusiastically wrote about his experiment with hoodia in South Africa. During the 24 hours he was under the plant's influence, he said his brain was really telling him that he was full, what he called "a magnificent deception."
Purity of Hoodia on the Market
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Mike Adams, a health reporter on the Natural News website, claims that tests show 80 percent of the hoodia pills being marketed are contaminated with other substances or contain no actual hoodia. The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) says that products sold by their member companies should contain hoodia if such is their claim. Their president Michael McGuffin further states that AHPA requires compliance with federal laws, as well as guidelines set forth by the association. Another sign of purity is the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) seal on a product label, meaning that it has been independently tested and found to contain the ingredients in the amounts listed.
Who Should Avoid Hoodia
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Until proved otherwise, doctors warn that persons with liver or kidney disease or women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should not use hoodia. Dr. Jasjit S. Bindra, a former hoodia researcher at Pfizer, said in a letter to the New York Times that although it appeared to work as an appetite suppressant, there were indications that it could have undesirable effects on the liver. As Phytopharm's Dr. Richard Dixey has explained that hoodia works by tricking the body into thinking that it has enough glucose, diabetics should be careful about using hoodia because their blood sugar could drop dangerously low. Another concern is dehydration, since hoodia suppresses thirst also.
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References
- Photo Credit desert plants image by Carol Tomalty from Fotolia.com
