The Anti-Fat Pill and the Bushmen

For thousands of years, African tribesmen have eaten the Hoodia to stave off hunger and thirst on long hunting trips. The Kung bushmen who live around the Kalahari desert in southern Africa used to cut off a stem of hoodia about the size of a cucumber and munch on it over a couple of days. Hoodia had the same effect on the hunting dogs. The Anikhwe of northern Botswana feed children who "eat too much" pieces of Hoodia to make them eat less.

Already decades ago obese members of the Khomani community were eating the Hoodia to slim down. The six foot plant, called Hoodia, contains an active ingredient which research has shown could reduce appetite by 40 - 50% (up to 2,000 calories a day for some). It works by mimicking the effect glucose has on the nerve cells in the brain, in effect telling us we're full, even when we are not... thus curbing the appetite. Hoodia has no known side effects, and contains a molecule that fools your brain into believing you have just eaten.

The remedy was originally patented by the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and licensed by the British company Phytopharm. The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is now developing a pill based on hoodia, also known as P57, which they hope will banish food cravings and have a major impact on the six billion Euro global slimming aid market. Other pharmaceutical companies have recognized the potential from the extract of the hoodia succulent and are currently trying to synthetically reproduce the active components so that they can be patented as a weight loss prescription appetite suppression drug.

There are several varieties:
Botanical info: 
Hoodia species: hoodia albisina, hoodia alstonii, hoodia annulata, hoodia bainii, hoodia barklyi, hoodia burkei, hoodia cactiformis, hoodia coleorum, hoodia currori, hoodia delaetiana, hoodia dinteri, hoodia dregei, hoodia duvalli, hoodia felina, hoodia flava, hoodia foetida, hoodia gibbosa, hoodia gordonii, hoodia grandis, hoodia haagnerae, hoodia husabensis, hoodia juttae, hoodia langii, hoodia longispina, hoodia lugardii, hoodia lutea, hoodia macrantha, hoodia marlothii, hoodia meloformis, hoodia montana, hoodia mossamedensis, hoodia officianis, hoodia parviflora, hoodia pedicellata, hoodia perlata, hoodia picta, hoodia pilifera, hoodia pillansii, hoodia pretnar, hoodia rosea, hoodia ruschii, hoodia rustica, hoodia similis, hoodia sociarum, hoodia tirasmontana, hoodia trichneri, hoodia triebneri, hoodia vaga, hoodia whitesloaneana

Although the bushmen say they use ALL species of Hoodia for appetite control, the most often mentioned species is Hoodia gordonii succulent (cactus)

Please note: You find hoodia is referred to as a cactus when in fact it is a succulent. To the novice it looks a bit like a cactus.