Hoodia gordonii

According to a 2006 review, no published scientific evidence supported hoodia as an appetite suppressant in humans.[10] One review suggested that any weight loss effects from consuming hoodia dietary supplements may simply be secondary symptoms of potentially serious adverse effects that may occur from using it.[11] The United States Federal Trade Commission recommends against the use of such diet products marketed with exaggerated claims for losing body weight through the use of dietary supplements, skin patches or creams.[12]

As H. gordonii and the whole genus Hoodia are threatened with extinction if international trade is not monitored, the genus is listed under CITES at Appendix II, and it is illegal to export plant material in any form from Africa without a CITES certificate being issued by proper authorities.

In the USA, the Fish and Wildlife Service, United States Department of Agriculture, and United States Customs and Border Protection regulate the importation and re-exportation of species such as H. gordonii. Current U.S. laws stipulate that not only must a CITES certificate accompany shipments, but also the importers must possess a permit issued by the USDA to import terrestrial plants. A CITES re-export certificate is needed to re-export H. gordonii.

The primary testing methods for authenticating H. gordonii are:

• HPTLC
• HPLC
• Microscopy /DPI
• Direct assay of the active component, "P57"

As of 2007, four independent labs are conducting tests to verify H. gordonii in consumer products. They are: Advanced Laboratories, Inc. in Smithfield, North Carolina, Alkemist Pharmaceuticals, Chromadex Labs of Irvine, California, and the University of Mississippi. The American Herbal Products Association completed work in 2009 establishing the de facto industry standard for authentication in response to scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission of the hoodia industry and complaints by consumers of fraudulent hoodia products being marketed.

The BBC reported on the H. gordonii plant in 2003.[13] On November 21, 2004, 60 Minutes aired a report on the effectiveness of the plant as a natural appetite suppressant.[14]

The media coverage and heavy marketing by nutritional supplement companies have created such a demand for Hoodia spp. plants that a protected status was imposed in several countries, such as Namibia. Many products claiming to contain Hoodia spp. do not actually contain the active ingredient alleged to suppress appetite. An ongoing review of hoodia pills by Alkemists Pharmaceuticals found at least half of the products advertised as containing hoodia contained none.[15]

In March 2006, Consumer Reports investigated the dietary supplement and concluded, "This weight loss drug lacks the clinical evidence for the Consumer Reports experts to recommend this product."[16]

Lack of scientific evidence or regulatory approvals have not stopped dietary supplement companies from marketing H. gordonii supplements with claims that it can reduce appetite and cause weight loss. Goen Technologies Corporation's TrimSpa unit began marketing it under the brand name X32 with celebrity spokesperson Anna Nicole Smith, though the FDA has notified Trimspa in a Warning Letter that it has not demonstrated that claims for their product are scientifically supportable.[17] Health Canada has not approved any hoodia products for sale.[18] However, they are sold in natural health stores. Goen Technologies was sued by the state of New Jersey for misleading consumers.[19] The Trimspa brand was the subject of a lawsuit in California, which claims it does not contain any of hoodia's active ingredient.[15]

In December 2004, Unilever entered into an agreement with Phytopharm to start marketing H. gordonii commercially in the form of shakes and diet bars, although as of April 2007, no products have yet surfaced on the consumer market from that venture.[20] In 2008 Unilever pulled out of their deal with Phytopharm to continue commercial development of hoodia. A document on Unilever's website entitled "Sustainable Development 2008: An Overview", and signed by Paul Polman, CEO, contains the following statement: "Innovation also carries uncertainties and does not always lead to a positive outcome. During 2008, having invested 20 million [pounds] in R&D, Unilever abandoned plans to use the slimming extract from the hoodia plant in a range of diet products. We stopped the project because our clinical studies revealed that products using hoodia would not meet our strict standards of safety and efficacy." Page 12.

Between March and June 2006, millions of e-mail spam and forum messages were sent out concerning hoodia, ostensibly offering hoodia extracts for weight control purposes. The Federal Trade Commission logged numerous complaints of consumer fraud associated with hoodia.[15]

In October 2009, Santa Cruz County District Attorney Bob Lee joined colleagues from several other counties in a lawsuit against three companies that allegedly made false claims that their diet supplements contain an extract from the African hoodia plant. The lawsuit, filed in Solano County, stated that Dex L-10 by Delmar Labs, Breakthrough Engineered Nutrition and Geopharma produce products with packaging and advertising that claim to contain H. gordonii when they contained little or none of it.[21]