Is P57 a Cardiac Glycoside?

MacLean DB and Luo LG, two researchers at the Division of Endocrinology, Hallett Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology, Brown Medical School, were intrigued by the fact that P57 is chemically similar to a class of plant-derived compounds called cardiac glycosides, of which the ones derived from various foxglove species (genus Digitalis) are the best known. These powerful drugs increase the force of contraction of the heart muscle and help maintain normal heart rate and rhythm. A common side effect of the cardiac glycosides is loss of appetite.

Into the hoodia gordonii market, you may see sometimes some products with the mention of H57 or P57. So, is there any difference between the so called H57 and P 57??

The answer is no. In fact, H57 and P57 are a similar term to refer to Hoodia Gordonii.

Originally, Phytopharm, the english pharmaceutical company which acquired the intellectual property rights developed over Hoodia gordonii from CSIR (South African Research and Development organisation). Then, Phytopharm patented the product as P57 (the P is used in most of their patents).