Hoodia 57 | Diet Pills
Hoodia 57 is the wonder drug that the obese have been waiting for. Like other weight loss products previously launched into the market, Hoodia has now become a craze among the weight loss regimes. The last ten years have seen much research going into this product called Hoodia 57.
Hoodia is actually a cactus like plant, succulent in nature, which grows naturally in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa. This plant has been known for its medicinal properties for more than 2000 years. It has about 13 subspecies of which Hoodia gordonii is a potent appetite suppressant. The San Bushmen tribe occupying the arid regions of South Africa has used Hoodia for suppressing hunger, thirst and pain when traveling through the deserts. In the 1990s, a British company called Phytopharm discovered a chemical component in Hoodia gordonii that could be used as an appetite suppressant. After the potential commercial use of Hoodia has been discovered, it has been classified by the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as a plant with controlled international harvesting to conserve the plant and prevent extinction.
Chemical composition
Phytopharm identified the active ingredient in Hoodia gordonii to be a substance called P57 or P57AS3. Chemically it is an oxypregnane steroidal glycoside, which acts as an anorectic agent. The substance P 57 was found to be present only in Hoodia gordonii and hence this subspecies has gained importance over the others.
Mechanism of action
Animal studies have been done on rats to determine the mechanism of action of Hoodia 57. A study was conducted recently by injecting a purified extract of P57 in the cerebral ventricles of experimental rats. It showed stimulation of the satiety centre of the hypothalamus. This study showed that there was a 50 to 150% increase in the content of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) molecules in the neurons of the hypothalamus. The 24-hour consumption of food in these experimental rats was reduced by about 40 to 60 %. Human trials carried out by Phytopharm in 2001 also indicated a statistically significant weight loss and loss of body fat in overweight individuals.
Caution about Hoodia 57
Though Hoodia 57 is a completely natural product, newspapers have reported death due to hunger and thirst after its consumption. This drug is known to be metabolized in the liver and hence there is a potential that it interacts with other drugs that are also metabolized in the liver especially warfarin, oral contraceptive pills etc. More large-scale trials will be required in the coming years done on patients with diabetes, hypertension and other risk factors to determine the safety of Hoodia 57.
Availability of Hoodia 57
For any product of medicinal value to be launched into the market, stringent measures of drug testing are required. Until recently there were no FDA approved Hoodia 57 products in the market. Only in January 2008, a South African Seal approved product has been launched much to the relief of people who have been desperately awaiting a safe drug to lose weight.
Precaution to be taken
If you have any chronic long-standing medical illness avoid the use of Hoodia 57 as its complete profile of drug interactions and adverse effects are not yet known.
Check the purity of the substance you purchase. Most pure forms may contain natural fiber as filler and vitamin C or L-ascorbate. Some components added in surrogate Hoodia products are magnesium stearate, gaur gum, caffeine, cellulose and silica.
It is always better to begin therapy with Hoodia 57 after consulting a physician who rules out any obvious risk factors.
Sources:
MacLean DB, Luo LG. Brain Res. 2004; 1020(1-2):1-11.Increased ATP content/production in the hypothalamus may be a signal for energy sensing of satiety: studies of the anorectic mechanism of a plant steroidal glycoside.
Avula B et al. J AOAC Int. 2006; 89(3):606-11. Determination of the appetite suppressant P57 in Hoodia gordonii plant extracts and dietary supplements by liquid chromatography/ electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-MSD-TOF) and LC-UV methods.