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Chances are that if you are a dieter or interested in fitness, you have heard of Hoodia. This natural appetite suppressant from South Africa is being advertised as a cure to weight problems. By fooling your mind into believing that you are not hungry with little side effects, Hoodia seems like a miracle cure. But is this really the case? Let's take a closer look at what Hoodia really is.

Oddly enough it is not a new discovery. It has been in use for almost 100,000 years by none other than the South African San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. This most primitive tribe used Hoodia to deter hunger during their long trips across the desert. Original research in the 1960's, conducted at South Africa's national laboratory, revealed weight loss in animals that were fed Hoodia as part of a study of indigenous foods. Thirty years later the natural appetite suppressant molecule contained in Hoodia labeled P57 was discovered. At this time it was licensed to Phytopharm and patented. Their first clinical trials conducted in December 2001 proved subjects given Hoodia consumed 1000 less calories per day and suffered no adverse side effects. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer teamed up with Phytopharm to fund research but dropped out when it was discovered that P57 couldn't be easily made into a drug.

The problem is it can't be made synthetically in large quantities and it is very expensive to do so even in small quantities. Phytopharm then opted to market Hoodia in its natural form through diet shakes and bars. Their products are due to line store aisles by 2008