The hoodia plant contains a veritable cocktail of organic molecules. Many plants, especially those that grow in tropical, desert or other "extreme" environments contain complex organic molecules that might be the next "wonder drug." This is one of the reasons conservation of our global biodiversity is so important.
The hoodia plant works by tricking the brain into thinking that the stomach is full – thus, suppressing the urge to eat more. It's that simple - and food you don't eat is pounds you don't gain.
In order to really understand how the hoodia plant works, you must understand the basics of the way our appetites work.
"Appetite" is one's urge or desire to eat. Scientists have only recently begun to understand the way the human appetite works. Current theories locate the center of the appetite in the hypothalamus, a structure deep in the brain. Possibly, the hypothalamus registers levels of blood glucose and signals the body to stop eating by "turning off" the urge to eat.
The hoodia plant contains a compound that interacts with the hypothalamus and tricks it into thinking that the body has had enough food, so the hypothalamus shuts down the appetite. So there's no longer any urge to eat.
P57 is a steroidal glycoside found in the hoodia plant. In animal experiments, P57 has been injected directly into the brains of rats.
The result? The animals ate 60% less -- and lost weight.
Scientists theorize that P57 is chemically similar to a neurochemical or another compound manufactured by the body whose purpose is to turn off the appetite when the body has had enough food.
Scientists have performed elaborate human trials using hoodia – and found in one experiment that obese people consumed approximately 1000 fewer calories per day when supplementing with the hoodia plant's extract.
There are many complex biological and psychological factors that influence hunger and thirst – so many that scientists still don't understand them. Nor do they understand exactly how the hoodia plant works.
But they do know one thing: it really does work.
