Lately Hoodia has come upon with some unique features that makes it desirable in the eyes of many people. It's relation with weight losing has made it quite popular these days. It is used as a medicine for losing weight. People think it works as an appetite suppresser. People of Southern Africa knew the plant and they used it to treat indigestion and infections. The plant is also known as "Queen of the Namib" and "Bushman's Hat".



Hoodia is a kind of plant with large flowers. It is remarkably similar to plants of the cactus family. The plant can get to the height of 1 meter. The flowers smell strong and have flesh color. There are many species, but one specific type is used as an appetite suppressant.

Sometimes ago the BBC has covered a report where they stated Hoodia gordonii as a natural way to decrease appetite. Before these reports,

there were only 3 products containing Hoodia on the US market. But since the media attention, there are over 300 products on the market. The rate of Hoodia per KG has also increased. The price for a KG of Hoodia was $13, which increased to $250 on average.

The popularity of Hoodia has lead to a protected status for the plant. There are many products available in the market claiming to contain the original product, but few of the products actually do. Half of the products available in the market do not contain any of the genuine elements.

Hoodia gordonii is a species that is endangered. CITES protects these plants and it is illegal to export Hoodia without proper certificate issued

by the authorities. Even in America there are laws that ensure that an importer must have a permit to import with the CITES certificate. As there are counterfeit products available in the market, there are independent labs that test products to know whether Hoodia is present in the product or not.

So, before buying any of these products you have to be careful enough not to buy the counterfeited products. Testing is really needed. As Hoodia is not available largely, and becoming more and more expensive, there are more and more products that do not contain the original extract.

Products with Hoodia are getting popular increasingly, so the number of counterfeited products is also in the rise.