April 16, 06 by HoodiaKnow
On April 10, Unilever announced they were successfully able to extract the molecule from hoodia gordonii in an effective form to be used as a weight loss product. Human trials are underway, and the first stage has completed. The product is expected to be for sale in 2008.
The yet-to-be-named treatment is expected to be launched in 2008, after first-stage tests showed it is commercially viable to produce the extract. Phytopharm and Unilever are embarking on clinical trials in the second stage of the project to make sure it works on humans and is safe to use. At the same time, Unilever is running a separate agronomy programme to determine whether the cactus, which takes 50 years to reach maturity, can be grown commercially.
April 01, 06 by HoodiaKnow
The February issue of Consumer Reports On Health contains an article on hoodia gordonii, calling it long on the exotic and short on the evidence. While we can’t reprint the full article without permission, we will include a quote that may interest you.
We could find only two studies of hoodia. In one, an unpublished 15-day clinical trial from a manufacturer, Phytopharm, nine volunteers who took pills containing P57, the supposed active ingredient, consumed fewer calories and lost more fat than those who took a placebo.
CR concluded:
Consumers have no way of knowing the type of hoodia or the amount of the plant or its active ingredient in these products, since dietary supplements are virtually unregulated. Given the very scanty evidence that hoodia works, and the even scantier evidence that it’s safe, particularly long-term, we do not recommend taking these supplements.