« Back to products list Common Name: Hoodia
Botanical Name: Hoodia gordonii
Other Names: xhooba, ghaap, hoodia cactus, and South African desert cactus
Growing Area: South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, China

General Info:
Hoodia grows in clumps of green upright stems and is actually a succulent, not a cactus. It takes about 5 years before hoodia's pale purple flowers appear and the cactus can be harvested.

Nutrients & Applications:
Traditionally, the San Bushmen have been using the hoodia plant for centuries to help ward off pain, hunger and thirst when they made long trips in the desert. They also used hoodia for abdominal cramps, indigestion and general well being.

Hoodia contains a molecule that has similar effects on nerve cells as glucose, and tricks the brain into the sensation of fullness. Results of human clinical trials in Britain suggest that Hoodia may reduce the appetite by hundreds of calories a day or more.

Hoodia is not a stimulant like many other appetite suppressing products. It simply turns off the hunger and thirst mechanisms of the body. It has no known side effects. *