Scientific Evidence and Hoodia

In 2001, Phytopharm completed a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial of Hoodia gordonii

• 18 overweight but otherwise healthy volunteers were given either pills containing p57 or a placebo.  They were instructed to make no changes to their current diet or exercise regimens. 

• After 15 days, the volunteers receiving p57 had a dramatic decrease in caloric intake, by approximately 1000 calories a day.

In 2004, a small "efficacy" trial was conducted on DEX-L10, a type of Hoodia capsule sold by Delmar Labs (Doheny)

• Seven overweight individuals took 1000 mg of DEX-L10 a day.  Other than eating a balanced breakfast and taking a daily multivitamin, they were told to keep other eating and exercise habits unchanged. 

• Over 28 days, the median weight loss among these individuals was 10 pounds, and they lost an average of 3.3% of their body weight.

• Most of the study participants reported that their daily caloric intake dropped by almost half within a few days of taking DEX-L10. 

• There were no reports of adverse effects, such as insomnia or jitteriness among study participants.

It is important to remember that while interesting, unpublished scientific studies are not peer-reviewed.  Therefore, the quality of the study, as well as its results, are largely unknown. More research is currently underway