Hoodia Research
By: Iris TaylorTotal Views: 112, Word Count: 501,
Hoodia Gordonii specie is now regarded as one of the powerful appetite suppressants of the world. The Britain based pharmaceutical giant has been given the license to commercialize the hoodia extract as a weight loss supplement. The modern world first came to know about the plant in the year 1937 when a Dutch anthropologist was carrying out a study on the living habits of the San Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. For thousands of years the tribesmen consumed the aerial stem of the plant in order to fight against hunger and thirst during their long hours of hunting. It was only from the 1960’s onwards the herb was intensely studied to trace out its appetite suppressing mechanism and potential side effects.
The herb earned its popularity when 60 Minutes had led an expedition to the Kalahari Desert. The correspondent named Leslie Stahl on eating the Hoodia stem reported that the plant has a taste of a cucumber and lost the desire to eat and drink for several hours. Tom Mangold, a correspondent of the BBC news reported that on consuming the Hoodia stem which was half a size of banana made him ‘feel-good almost aphrodisiac quality’.
Hoodia research works have revealed that the plant contains only one active component that tricks the brain by making it believe that the person is already full even if he has stayed without food for long hours. The p57 molecule of the hoodia plant is almost 10,000 times more active than a glucose molecule in influencing the nerve cells of the brain that controls the mood and hunger for food.
In the year 1997 the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research granted the patent to the famous British pharmaceutical company named Phytopharm. In 2004 Phytopharm carried out tests on Hoodia’s safety and efficacy in reducing weight jointly with Unilever Corporation. The unpublished trial that the two companies conducted revealed that consumption of hoodia will make a person take 1000 calories less than the person following a normal diet. The trial extended for 15 days and a group of nine obese volunteers was given pure hoodia while other group of nine was given plesbo injections. Even though both the groups were prescribed equal intensity of exercising schedules, the group consuming hoodia were noticed to be consuming lesser amount of food and losing weight faster than the plesbo group.
In an issue of Brain Research a study was published revealing the mechanisms of the P57. The experiment was done on rats. The brains of the rats that were injected with hoodia had altered levels of ATP, an energy molecule influencing appetite. As a result they ate much less than those rats that were given plesbo injections.
The probable side effects of hoodia are not yet established. Hence, hoodia is regarded to be quite safe for consumption. Hoodia Balance is an efficient appetite suppressant that contains natural extracts of the hoodia plant. The product is sure to reduce your weight significantly.
About the Author
Iris Taylor has been working with several weight loss programs for many years. She has extensive knowledge regarding effective ways to reduce weight. If you are interested to reduce your weight with the aid of an appetite suppressant, you may try out the product that is mentioned in the following link.
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