Hoodia Gordonii is a plant native to Southern Africa, being found most commonly in the Kalahari desert. It is a member of the succulent family, and is extremely hard to cultivate, taking years to mature.

The Hoodia Gordonii is a succulent (not a cactus) belonging to the Apocynaceae family. Hoodia is also known for its other south african name Xhoba.

Hoodia gordonii is just a variety of the Hoodia genus, and is the only one that contains a natural active ingredient, P57, which has only recently been identified. The P57 works as an appetite suppressant.

The San people, native tribe of the Kalahari Desert, have used Hoodia Gordonii for centuries, possibly even for thousands of years. The San Tribe is one of the oldest living tribes in the world. They have successfully used Hoodia Gordonii as an appetite and thirst suppressant in times of hunger, or when they needed to travel long distances without eating.

In Botswana, Hoodia spp are protected by the Agricultural Resources Conservation Act, in which Hoodia is listed as a veld product.

In Namibia, all Hoodia species are protected and prior authorization is required for harvesting or trade. No wild harvesting has yet been authorized until a status review has been completed.

In South Africa, Hoodia species are protected species in the Northern Cape (Environmental Conservation Ordinance No.19 of 1974).

No collecting is allowed without a permit.

Hoodia Utilization - Hoodia Trade - Where the Hoodia comes from?

National Utilization

Hoodia spp. are widely used traditionally by the San people as an appetite suppressant, thirst quencher and as a cure for severe abdominal cramps, haemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes.

Various uses have been recorded among Anikhwe (northern Botswana), Hei//om (northern Namibia), Khomani (north western South Africa), and the !Xun and Khwe (Khoe) (originally from Angola) communities.

Several species occur in very large populations over large areas (several more than 10,000 km2).

This includes Hoodia Gordonii, which is the species currently most sought after for trade in weight reduction products.

There are, however, other closely related species that are less prolific, occurring in isolated patches with an overall low density, and a relatively small distribution range (less than 1,000 km2).

Hoodia occur in summer rainfall areas in Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, as well as winter rainfall areas in Namibia (MET 2002).

All taxa except one are found west of 26° longitude from 33° degrees south to as far north as Angola.

The only exception is H. currorii subsp. lugardii, which occurs in Botswana and the Limpopo province of South Africa.The centres of diversity are in Namibia (11 taxa) and South Africa (9 taxa)

Source CITES

For those interested to know more about the Hoodia gordonii plant, we include some basic information compiled from CITES´ INFORMATION DOCUMENT ON TRADE IN HOODIA GORDONII AND OTHER HOODIA SPECIES

1. Taxonomy

1.1. Class: Magnoliopsida