An Internet search for "Hoodia", "Xhoba" (the name given the cactus by the San Bushmen) and "P57" (so named because it was the 57th compound that Phytopharm spent money to develop) turns up some very interesting information.

Hoodia cacti are native to the semi-deserts of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia and Angola. There are about 20 species in this family but the gordonii is the one that contains a natural appetite suppressant. The Hoodia cactus is quite common and varieties can be purchased for your garden, although growing gordoniis for your own use is not the answer since they are slow growing, bitter tasting and produce odiferous flowers that attract flies which pollinate them.

The reason it has taken so long to bring this natural compound to the marketplace has to do with modern research methodology since the effects were first observed in 1937 by a Dutch anthropologist studying the San Bushman of the Kalahari Desert. He noticed that they munched on the stem of a certain variety of Hoodia plant as an appetite suppressant and thirst quencher before and during nomadic hunts through the sandswept and sparsely vegetated area.

Interestingly, the San, who can trace their heritage back 27,000 years based on rock paintings, are one of the world's oldest and most primitive tribes. They have known about the properties of Xhoba for thousands of years.

Besides alleviating hunger and thirst, Xhoba also provides a state of alertness but without the jittery feeling produced by the current Western diet remedy of ephedra stacked with caffeine. Thus it is an ideal choice for days' long hunts where prey is tracked over hundreds of miles.