Hoodia gordonii is a plant that bears a close resemblance to a cactus and can be found in the Northern Cape area of South Africa as well as parts of the southern regions of Namibia. It tolerates wide ranging variations in temperature- over 40C is common in arid, desert areas, but is also able to survive in very low temperatures and frosty conditions, sometimes as low as -3C. The plant can be found growing in a variety of habitats, some examples being sandy conditions in the Kalahari Desert, arid stony slopes or flatlands or under the shelter of bushes that are xerophytic.

Initially, only one stem is formed but as the plant gets older it begins to form branches, until the time it reaches maturity when it may have up to 50 individual branches. Under idyllic circumstances, the plant may reach a height of up to one metre and when it flowers, these are produced on the top of the plant. These flowers are quite large in size and have been described as having an overpowering, rotten meat kind of smell to them. The colouring of these flowers varies from a pale straw colour to an almost dark maroon shade and they are usually produced in the late stages of summer.

Hoodia gordonii was originally discovered by a person going by the name of Mr. Paterson, who at the time was accompanied by a Col. R.F. Gordon. It was in the month of December in 1778, in a region now known as Upington which can be found in the Northern Cape of South Africa. Francis Masson, who at the time was a famous botanist, sailed to the region with James Cook on the ship HMS Resolution in 1772, and was eventually accredited with giving the plant its Latin name- stapelia gordonii, named after Col. Gordon. In the 1830's the species was transferred into the genus Hoodia, so named after Van Hood, an enthusiastic succulent grower.

Hoodia gordonii is actually one of thirteen differing varieties of the hoodia plant, many of which can be consumed in a raw state. They are classed as succulents and not cacti and a variety of hoodia plants have been used for thousands of years by various tribal communities in Southern Africa mainly for therapeutic purposes, ranging from remedies for indigestion to cures for infections.

The Hoodia gordonii plant has also been linked for a number of years to being a natural appetite suppressant and were originally said to be used by different cultures to suppress their appetites during long foraging or hunting trips. The suppressant works by tricking the body, via the brain, into having a feeling of fullness while still making sure the metabolism process is working correctly and efficiently. The suppressant properties of hoodia have now been established and Hoodia based products are being sold worldwide, but especially in many western countries where obesity is a major problem.

While hoodia gordonii has been known for a long time, there had been no proper research done until scientists from South Africa in 1963, had some very promising initial results. These scientists joined forces with a British company, Phytopharm, and after carrying out major research they were able to segregate the active component of hoodia- a steroidal glycoside which they named p57. They discovered that the chemical composition of p57 enabled it to basically 'fool' the brain into thinking that the molecules that made up p57 were really glucose molecules, the implication of which was the hypothalamus area of the brain didn't send out signals that the body needed further sources of energy. This procedure normally happens when you consume food and your blood sugars rise, which in turn prompts the body to send signals back to the hypothalamus that you are full.


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