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Hoodia gordonii, a plant that, while it looks like a cactus, is actually a "succulent" that grows in the deserts of the Kalahari region of South Africa. The Khoi people of the Kalahari have been using the hoodia plant for centuries to help ward off pain, hunger and thirst when the Bushmen made long trips in the desert.
Hoodia gordonii is entirely natural -- it is not a drug, and has no stimulant properties. There is interest, however, from various pharmaceutical companies, including the company Phytopharm, who are trying to synthesize the appetite-suppressing component, P57, in order to create a patentable drug in the future. |
