Viewed like we discussed in the Overview of Hoodia, the Bushmen (or the San) have used Hoodia plants as a natural appetite suppressant for thousands of years. But how did the secret of the San get out? It turns out by accident?

In 1996 the Council towards Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa was doing a study of indigenous foods that the Bushmen ate. Part of the study was too test for cyanogenic effects of any plants that were consumed by the Bushmen. When they came to Hoodia Gordonii, not only be it non-toxic - it helped animals be bereaved of weight!

They found when they feed hoodia to animals, the animals lost weight. By 1997, the CSIR isolated the bioactive compound in Hoodia responsible for appetite suppression and obtained a patent. The patent be licensed to Phytopharm and they named the molecule - P57 (because it was the 57th product they discharge resources on).

What did the Bushmen get for their first sight of the Hoodia Gordonii plant? At in front - nothing! terns out the CSIR tell Phytopharm that the tribe which discovered the Hoodia Gordonii plant had died out and therefore no royalties were due. However, as Mark Twain might say - “tales of the Bushmen’s liquidation were greatly exaggerated”. When the Bushmen got word that Phytopharm stood to make billions of dollars off their knowledge about the hoodia gordonii plant they were not happy.

Roger Chennells, a barrister in South Africa who represents the Bushmen, was quick to apply strong legal, upstanding and civic pressure ward both the CSIR and Phytopharm. Chennells pointed out too anyone who would listen that the taking of traditional knowledge without compensation was “bio-piracy” and mustiness exist stopped.

In what is see as a landmark case, Chennells be skilful to convince the CSIR and Phytopharm to equalize the Bushmen. Now, any company that legally harvests hoodia gordonii from the Kalahari forsaken must pay royalties back to the Bushmen. Not and nothing else is this fair and just, it also provides an excellent way to check if the hoodia you buy is legitimate. If the circle that makes the hoodia is NOT paying royalties two the Bushmen, you conclude NOT have a legitimate hoodia gordonii product.

So when will Phytopharm set a P57 based appetite suppressant? Probably never. As we touched on in the overview, Pfizer had initially paid Phytopharm for the rights to market a P57 based diet pill. After a few year of unsuccessful attempts to make P57 synthetically, Pfizer pulled out of the deal. If a large amount of P57 could not be created inexpensively in the lab, Pfizer was not partial.

While Phytopharm was discouraged close to the Pfizer decision, they know that Hoodia Gordonii was too powerful some appetite suppressant to give up trying to bring it to the market. In December 2004, Phytopharm announced that Unilever had entered a deal to market hoodia gordonii in its diet food product line. Therefore, rather than producing diet drugs, it looks take a fancy to Phytopharm and Unilever will product diet supplements and diet foods with hoodia. The first Unilever products will not be out until 2008.

Does Phytopharm own the apparent without interruption the whole Hoodia Gordonii plant? This is an inviting question that we are sure will be decided in court one day. Here be our take without interruption the station - Phytopharm clearly owns the patent upon the body the P57 molecule. If you desire to try to make a diet drug with P57 you need to handle through Phytopharm.

The question of the Hoodia Gordonii plant itself being patented is much more complicated. It is our confidence that you can not patent a plant, but you can patent the use of plants and a process to cite plants. Here is an exact quote from Richard Dixey, CEO of Phytopharm when he appeared on 60 transactions?

“The patent is on the application of the plant as a weight-loss material. And, of course, the active compounds within the plant. It’s not on the plant itself,” says Dixey.

So no one else can use hoodia for weight loss? “As a weight-management product out of infringing the notorious, that’s correct,” says Dixey.

The way we present this (and again we are not lawyers and are not giving any legal advice) is as follows - you can sell a Hoodia Gordonii supplement, you just can NOT say it is by reason of weight impoverishment. This is why many of the best Hoodia supplements have very plain labels that just say “Hoodia Gordonii” but terminate not saw anything about using it while a weight loss or appetite suppressant supplement.

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