Everyone's Health

"Who A - What-A?",
  Hoodia has yet to jump through the research hoops

The full name is hoodia gordonii. It is a type of cactus in the aloe family that grows in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa. There is quite a bit of hype about this plant, and anyone with an e-mail address is likely to have received a number of pitches for a hoodia-based weight-loss product.

As the story goes, the San-speaking tribes of the Kalahari would go on extended trips through the desert, which is known for its lack of food and water. These intrepid travelers would typically take some of this cactus, chewing the fresh pulp along the way, and it would help stave off their hunger and thirst.

Any substance with an ability to turn off hunger holds great promise as an anti-obesity agent. Indeed, scientists from the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Affairs recognized this and patented an active agent of the cactus, named P57, in the mid-1990s. There was definite interest among drug and supplement companies.

Since then, there has been only a minor amount of research evidence to affirm the potential effects of hoodia, and not one published clinical trial that hoodia gordonii or its active ingredients has any effect in people. There was, however, coverage on a network news show, and this served to ignite commercial interest.

According to the company that the South African scientific council licensed to develop products, it will be a year or so before the first products are on the market. What does this say for all the products out there today?

It needs to be emphasized that there is absolutely no published evidence that hoodia can work in people, and no published clinical studies on its safety and efficacy in humans. We have no idea what effects are possible and whether there are side effects or counter indications with medications or existing health conditions.

There was preliminary research done with an animal model. One study found significant appetite suppression when a component of hoodia gordonii was injected into the brain of a rat. This is all well and fine, but it says little about what will happen if the same cactus compound is consumed as a dietary supplement.

When we take something orally, it has to go through the body's hefty defenses, which are designed to destroy foreign substances before they make their way into the bloodstream.

Consider also that the traditional use by the San tribes involved fresh raw pieces of cactus; it is a leap to assume there could be a similar effectiveness in a bottle of a processed liquid or powdered dietary supplement.

An underlying issue is that we don't even know what is in those supplement bottles. Even if there is something in there that comes from a part of the actual cactus, what's to say – aside from the sales brochure – that the product contains anything that will have any type of weight-loss effect? Something might eventually be found in the hoodia cactus that is beneficial, but all this speaks to the reason we need studies as a foundation before any claims are made.

There is a side topic to this episode, and that is the battle to determine who owns the rights to traditional foods grown on the lands of native cultures. Can these, in fact, be patented by outside parties?

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