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 In one, an unpublished 15-day clinical trial from a manufacturer, Phytopharm, nine volunteers who took pills containing P57, the supposed active ingredient, consumed fewer calories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.
