"Hi. Thanks for the great informative web site!!! I have a question about hoodia. You say that there are twenty different kinds of hoodia plants. Is hoodia gordonii the only one that works? Do the others work the same? Do they work just as well or not as well? Thanks!!"
That's a great question. It's true there are 20 different hoodia species growing in the Kalahari. The bushmen, from whom we learned of hoodia gordonii, say that they use several of the hoodia species for appetite suppressants and other purposes (traditional medicines for various ailments, etc.)
However, only hoodia gordonii has been studied in a clinical setting. The South African national laboratory isolated the active ingredient, P57, from hoodia gordonii alone. This does not mean that other species of hoodia might not also have P57, only that scientists don't know at this time whether other hoodia species are equally effective.
As a side note, when 60 Minutes reporter Leslie Stahl visited Africa, she tasted both hoodia gordonii and another hoodia plant. While the gordonii tasted mild and cucumbery with no aftertaste, the other plant tasted extremely bitter and unpleasant.
So it's possible we know so much about hoodia gordonii because it's the tastiest of the hoodia species.
