|
Hoodia & Obesity, Weight Loss – Reference & Directory
Billion Dollar Questions @ BillDoll.com – The Billion Dollar Site
|
|
|
|
Hoodia & Obesity, Weight Loss – Reference & Directory
..
..
The main question for this topic @ Billion Dollar Questions: What are the causes, treatments & cure for obesity?
See a list of all the topics under the question here.
Related sections @ BillDoll: A-Z of Diseases – diagnosis & treatment resources for over 200 diseases @ BillDoll Diseases section; click on the letter for diseases starting with that letter: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
Looking for Great Products to get Lean, Mean &
Gorgeous?
Hoodia & Obesity, Weight Loss – Reference & Directory
Hoodia - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hoodia gordonii Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Subfamily: Asclepiadoideae
Tribe: Stapeliae
Genus: Hoodia Sweet ex Decne.
Species See below
Hoodia (IPA: 'hʊdiːə) is a genus of 13 species in the flowering plant family Apocynaceae, under the subfamily Asclepiadoideae.[1] They are stem succulents, described as "cactiform" because of their remarkable similarity to the unrelated cactus family. They can reach up to 1m high and have large flowers, often with flesh colour and strong smell.
Many Hoodia species are protected plants, typical of the Namib Desert, ranging from Central Namibia to southern Angola, especially in plains and rocky areas. Common names include "Bushman's Hat" and "Queen of the Namib". The indigenous Bushmen call this plant Xhoba (IPA: 'ɡəʊbə).
Several species are grown as garden plants, and one species, Hoodia gordonii, is being investigated for use as an appetite suppressant.
Contents
1 Species 2 Medicinal uses 2.1 Published scientific reports 2.2 Press coverage 2.3 Marketing and spam 3 References 4 External links
Species
Hoodia alstonii Hoodia currorii (syn. H. lugardii, H. macrantha Hoodia dregei Hoodia flava Hoodia gordonii (syn. Stapelia gordonii, H. barklyi, H. burkei, H. longispina) Hoodia juttae Hoodia mossamedensis Hoodia officinalis (syn. H. delaetiana) Hoodia parviflora Hoodia pedicellata Hoodia pilifera (syn. H. annulata, H. grandis, H. pillansii) Hoodia ruschii (Queen of the Namib) Hoodia triebneri (syn. H. foetida)
Medicinal uses
The use of Hoodia has long been known by the indigenous populations of Southern Africa, who infrequently use these plants for treating indigestion and small infections.
In 1977, the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) isolated the ingredient in hoodia - now known as P57 - which is responsible for its appetite-suppressant effect, and patented it in 1996. The CSIR then granted United Kingdom-based Phytopharm a license, and they collaborated with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to isolate active ingredients from the extracts and look into synthesizing them for use as an appetite suppressant. Pfizer released the rights to the primary ingredient in 2002. Paul Hutson, associate professor in the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Pharmacy, told the Wisconsin State Journal, "For Pfizer to release something dealing with obesity suggests to me that they felt there was no merit to its oral use". Pfizer states that development on P57, the active ingredient of Hoodia, was stopped due to the difficulty of synthesizing P57. Jasjit Bindra, lead researcher for hoodia at Pfizer, states there were indications of unwanted effects on the liver caused by other components, which could not be easily removed from the supplement, adding "Clearly, hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Until safer formulations are developed, dieters should be wary of using it."
In 2002, CSIR officially recognized the San tribespeople’s rights over Hoodia, allowing them to take a percentage of the profits and any spin-offs resulting from the marketing of Hoodia. Hoodia gordonii is a protected plant which may only be wild-harvested by individuals and the few companies who have been granted a license.
Published scientific reports
It has not been scientifically proven if Hoodia works as an appetite suppressant. No published peer-reviewed double-blind clinical trials have been performed on humans to investigate the safety or effectiveness of Hoodia gordonii in pill form as a nutritional supplement.
One scientific study has been published in which the extract was injected directly into the brains of rats. The author of the rat study said that P57 was easily broken down by the liver, so it might be hard to take in enough of it to ensure that it had an effect. MacLean cautioned that currently available supplements might be inadequate, stating "I question whether there is really enough of the active ingredient in there to do much."
Press coverage
The press coverage and heavy marketing by nutritional supplement companies have created such a demand for Hoodia plants that a protected status was imposed in several countries like Namibia. Many products claiming to contain Hoodia do not actually contain the active ingredient alleged to suppress appetite. Only the South African product has the claimed properties. An ongoing review of Hoodia pills by Alkemists Pharmaceuticals found that at least half of the products advertised as containing Hoodia contained none.
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."
Marketing and spam
Lack of scientific evidence or regulatory approval have not stopped dietary supplement companies from marketing Hoodia gordonii extracts with claims that it can lower blood pressure and reduce the appetite. Goen Technologies Corporation's TrimSpa unit began marketing Hoodia gordonii under the brand name X32 with celebrity spokesperson Anna Nicole Smith, even though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has notified Trimspa that it has not demonstrated that claims for their product are scientifically supportable. Health Canada has not approved any hoodia products for sale. Goen Technologies has also been sued by the state of New Jersey for misleading consumers. The Trimspa brand is currently the subject of a lawsuit in California which claims that it does not contain any of Hoodia's active ingredient.
In March to June of 2006, billions of email spam messages were sent out concerning Hoodia, ostensibly offering Hoodia extracts for weight control purposes. As is usually the case with spam, it is not clear what prompted the sudden barrage of messages, since there had not been any recent positive media coverage about Hoodia, nor any signs of increasing public interest in Hoodia. The Federal Trade Commission has logged numerous complaints of consumer fraud associated with Hoodia and the number is expected to continue to rise.
In December 2004, Unilever entered into an agreement with Phytopharm to start marketing Hoodia gordonii commercially in the form of shakes and diet bars.
On July 1, 2006, it was reported on entertainment news show Extra that a company is now marketing Hoodia-enhanced lollipops called PowerPops.
There are many so-called "consumer research" websites claiming to show consumer reviews and testimonials. The legitimacy and accuracy of any of these websites are unknown. In addition to massive spam campaigns, there have been many reports of over-hyped and sometimes misleading marketing associated with websites selling and/or promoting Hoodia-related products.
..
..
Web Resources for Hoodia & Weightloss
Related Topics & Questions
Directory
Obesity in Children – Causes, Treatments, Cures
Obesity in Women – Causes, Treatments, Cures
Best Exercises for Obesity – Weight Loss Exercise, Methods
Hoodia & Obesity, Weight Loss – Reference & Directory
Drugs & Medicines for Obesity – Weight Loss Drug, Medicine
Body Mass Index – BMI – BMI & Obesity, Weight Loss
Causes of Obesity – Reasons for being Obese
Stress & Obesity – Lifestyle & Obesity
Smoking & Obesity – Cigarette Smoking & Obesity
Drinking & Obesity – Drinks, Alcohol & being Obese
Binge Eating Disorder & Obesity
Obesity & Heart Attack – Obesity & Cardiac Problems
Obesity & Respiratory Problems – Obesity & Respiration
Obesity & Psychological Problems – Obesity & Society
Bariatric Surgery – Bariatric Surgery & Weight Loss
Dieting & Obesity – Foods, Nutrition & Weight Loss
Junk Food & Obesity – Weight Loss & Unhealthy Foods
..
..
Main Sections @ The Billion Dollar Site
Credits & Copyright: This page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the ||Wikipedia article @@@||
Reference
GeoDig – Get Local!
Have you checked out the GeoDig directories for over 30 countries? GeoDig provides useful local and regional web resources for over 200 cities around the world. See the list of cities and countries for which GeoDig provides locality-specific web resources.
North America USA - Alabama (AL) > Birmingham; Alaska; Arkansas (AR) > Little Rock; Arizona (AZ) > Phoenix, Las Vegas, Tucson; California (CA) > Los Angeles, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Bakersfield; Colorado, CO > Denver; Connecticut, CT > Hartford; District of Columbia, DC > Washington DC; Delaware (DE) > Wilmington; Florida > Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Orlando, Sarasota, West Palm Beach, Jacksonville; Georgia > Atlanta; Hawaii > Honolulu; Idaho; Illinois > Chicago; Indiana > Indianapolis; Iowa; Kansas (KS); Kentucky (KY) > Louisville; Louisiana (LA) > New Orleans, Baton Rouge; Maine; Maryland (MD) > Baltimore; Massachusetts > Boston, Springfield; Michigan > Detroit, Grand Rapids; Minnesota > Minneapolis-St. Paul; Mississippi (MS); Missouri (MO) > Kansas City, St. Louis; Montana; Nebraska (NE) > Omaha; Nevada (NV) > Las Vegas; New Hampshire; New Jersey (NJ) > Jersey City, Newark; New Mexico (NM) > Albuquerque; New York > New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany, Syracuse; North Carolina (NC) > Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, Greensboro; North Dakota; Ohio> Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Youngstown, Dayton; Oklahoma (OK) > Oklahoma City, Tulsa; Oregon > Portland; Pennsylvania > Philadelphia, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Scranton, ; Rhode Island (RI) > Providence; South Carolina (SC) > Greenville; South Dakota; Tennessee (TN) > Knoxville, Memphis, Nashville; Texas > Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Austin, McAllen; Utah (UT) > Salt Lake City; Vermont; Virginia (VA) > Norfolk, Richmond; Washington > Seattle; West Virginia; Wisconsin (WI) > Milwaukee; Wyoming Canada - Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa-Gatineau, Edmonton, Quebec City, Winnipeg, Hamilton, London
You are the Obesity & Weight Loss Section of Billion Dollar Questions
Europe - UK - London, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leicester; France - Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Nice, Nantes, Strasbourg, Montpellier, Bordeaux; Germany - Frankfurt (Frankfurt am Main), Munich (München), Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Cologne (Köln), Essen, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Bremen, Duisburg, Hannover, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Dresden, Leipzig; Italy - Milan (Milano), Rome (Roma), Napoli (Naples), Torino (Turin), Palermo, Bologna, Firenze (Florence), Genova (Genoa); Spain - Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Malaga, Murcia, Las Palmas, Bilbao; Scandinavia - Finland - Helsinki (Helsingin), Espoo, Tampere (Tampereen), Vantaa, Turku, Oulu, Sweden - Stockholm, Goteborg (Göteborg), Malmo (Malmö), Uppsala, Vasteras (Västerås), Denmark - Copenhagen (Københavns), Aarhus (Århus), Odense, Aalborg (Ålborg), Norway - Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim; Benelux - Belgium - Brussels (Brussel), Antwerp (Antwerpen), Ghent (Gent, Gand), Charleroi, Liège (Liege), Netherlands - Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Eindhoven, Tilburg, ‘s-Gravenhage (sGravenhage), Groningen, Luxembourg - Luxembourg City; Portugal – Lisbon; Greece – Athens; Hungary – Budapest; Poland – Warsaw; Switzerland - Zürich (Zurich), Geneva (Geneve, Genève), Basel, Bern (Berne), Lausanne; Austria - Linz, Vienna (Wien), Graz, Linz, Salzburg, Innsbruck; Ireland – Dublin
Asia - India - Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore; China & Hong Kong - Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Wuhan, Shenyang, Guangzhou, Harbin, Xian; Japan - Tokyo, Osaka, Yokohama, Nagoya, Sapporo, Kyoto, Kobe, Fukuoka, Kawasaki, Hiroshima; South Korea - Seoul, Pusa, Taegu, Incheon, Taejeon, Taiwan - Taipei; Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur; Singapore; Russia - Moscow, St Petersburg
You are the Obesity & Weight Loss Section of Billion Dollar Questions
Middle East - Turkey - Istanbul, Israel - Tel Aviv
Oceania - Australia - Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide
Africa - South Africa - Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban
|