Hoodia Gordonii is a product which is owed basically to the San tribes. Because of their experience on the desert, they were the focus group when this story began. In fact, it was the CSIR that started to study the eating habits of the Bushmen when the hoodia gordonii anti-obesity properties were found.

But what did the Bushmen get for their involvement in the Hoodia Gordonii discovery?

San People and Hoodia Gordonii

For many centuries the San people (also often named as San bushmen) of the Kalahari desert in Southern Africa have used Hoodia plants as a food. The species Hoodia gordonii was less often used because of its lingering bitter taste being considered unpleasant. However, in times of hardship, or being away from familiar areas, it was sometimes eaten by the San people.

San

From The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

SAN [San] , people of SW Africa, consisting of several groups and numbering over 85,000 in all. They are generally short in stature; their skin is yellowish brown in color; and they have broad noses, flat ears, bulging foreheads, and prominent cheekbones. The San have been called Bushmen by whites in South Africa, but the term is now considered derogatory.

South African tribesmen accuse Germany of illegally selling products from the desert plant

Southern Africa’s earliest inhabitants—the San Bushmen—are urging the governments of Switzerland, Germany, and South Africa to act against the illegal sale of products from the desert plant Hoodia gordonii.