Hoodia is one amongst the 13 species of a flowering plant family, Apocynaceae. A stem succulent, Hoodia is easily mistaken to be a cactus with its remarkable resemblance. But it is not. Growing to a height of up to a meter, Hoodia has large strong smelling flowers often having a tan color. They are found in the natural habitats in Namib Desert in Africa spreading from southern Angola to Central Namibia. One of the several species of Hoodia, the Hoodia gordonii has been under investigation for use as an appetite suppressant. The plant has been extensively marketed across the world for weight loss. The San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert are the originators of this claim. The plant takes five years to flower after which it is harvested. For centuries they have been using the plant for various purposes such as appetite suppressant when on long hunting trips in the desert and treating small infections and indigestion.

The use of Hoodia gordonii by San Bushmen was noted by a Dutch anthropologist. The South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) commenced studies on the plant in 1977. It was successful in isolating a steroidal glycoside, the principal ingredient responsible for suppressing appetite. This ingredient was named P57. The patent for this discovery was obtained in 1996. CSIR formally recognized the San Bushmen as the originators of the knowledge only in 2002 when this non-recognition issue was raised. This made the San people eligible for getting a share in the royalties from the sales of Hoodia and any other products based on this knowledge. In 1995 Phytopharm received the license for P57 from CSIR. The company spent about $20 million for carrying out research on hoodia. P57 was sub-licensed In 1998 Phytopharm sub-licensed the rights to Pfizer for $21 million but returned the rights back to Phytopharm who is collaborating with Unilever.

When BBC reported on Hoodia in 2003 and later 60 Minutes reported from the fields of Africa in 2004, the fame of Hoodia spread like wildfire. Many products came to be launched by many companies with the claim that it had the original Hoodia as one of its ingredients. The products were marketed in different forms like capsules, liquid tinctures, tablets, syrups, coffee and infusions, diet fruit bars and protein shakes. There are products such as Hoodia Supreme whose genuineness can be checked in the Internet by searching for Hoodia Supreme review.

Hoodia was placed in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) making it a plant that is threatened with extinction if its international trade is not regulated. The trade in Hoodia now come under the CITES related certification which also makes it possible to verify its genuineness.

Nature has always been a great advantage to human beings. As human beings, it is our duty to take good care of Mother Nature.

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