The local people call it Ghaap, Xhooba or Khoba. A flowering plant belonging to the Apocynaceae family, Hoodia Gordonii is found in the semi-deserts of Southern Africa. Though specific to the Namib Desert, Hoodia is found in the countries of Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It is a plant that grows to a height of 1 meter. Its large flower has a strong smell and has a tan or purple color. It is also called ‘Bushman’s Hat’ and ‘Queen of the Namib’.

The San Bushmen, the indigenous people of the Kalahari Desert, have known about this plant for ages. They have been consuming this for various purposes. When they go for a hunt that will take them days, they suppress their hunger by eating the stem of Hoodia plants. They are known to use the plant to treat such diseases as severe abdominal cramps, hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and diabetes. About twenty sub-species of Hoodia plant are known to exist. Not all of them suppress appetite. It is the Hoodia Gordonii that has this quality. It takes about five years for the plant to mature and flower.

The outside world came to know about the use of hoodia when a Dutch anthropologist reported it in 1937. But it was not until 1963 that scientist began to examine this. The scientists of CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), the national laboratory of South Africa, along with the scientist of Phytopharm, a British company, conducted various studies. They were also able to identify and isolate its principal ingredient, a steroidal glycoside, which they named it as p57. Later it began to be sold in the liquid and capsule form all over the world. It gained popularity as Hoodia p57. Hoodia is found to suppress appetite when it sends signals to the brain that strongly suggests that the stomach is full. This kills the appetite making the obese people to eat less.

With Hoodia becoming popular, the plant was indiscriminately harvested from its natural habitat. This led CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora), to declare the plant as facing the risk of being included as an endangered species. CITES included it in Appendix II. This meant that its trade had to be controlled. The Botanic Gardens Conservation International listed the plant in 2008 as facing extinction due to indiscriminate extraction by traders. Hoodia soon began to be cultivated under government control in farms in Kalahari Desert. It also helped to ensure that the San Bushmen also received benefits from the royalty.

Almost everything that we need is provided by nature. Thus, we should never abuse nature, instead we take care of it.

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