As we discussed in the Overview of Hoodia, the Bushmen (or the San) have used Hoodia plants as a natural thirst suppressant for thousands of years. But how did the secret of the San get out? It turns out by accident?

In 1996 the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa be doing a study of indigenous foods that the Bushmen ate. Part of the study was to test beneficial to cyanogenic effects of one plants that be consumed by the Bushmen. When they came to Hoodia Gordonii, not only was it non-toxic - it helped animals lose weight!

They found when they fed hoodia to animals, the animals lost weight. By 1997, the CSIR isolated the bioactive bilobed in Hoodia responsible for appetite suppression and obtained a patent. The patent was licensed to Phytopharm and they named the molecule - P57 (For it was the 57th product they spent money on).

What did the Bushmen get towards their discovery of the Hoodia Gordonii plant? At head - nothing! Turns out the CSIR told Phytopharm that the tribe what one. discovered the Hoodia Gordonii plant had died out and therefore no royalties were appropriate. However, as Mark Twain might say - “tales of the Bushmen’s death were greatly exaggerated”. When the Bushmen got word that Phytopharm stand to make billions of dollars off they’re perception about the hoodia gordonii vegetable they were not elated.

Roger Chennells, a lawyer in South continent who represents the Bushmen, was facile to apply strong legal, moral and political pressure on both the CSIR and Phytopharm. Chennells pointed out to anyone who would give ear that the taking of traditional knowledge without reparation was “bio-piracy” and must be stop.

In what is seen as a identification case, Chennells was able to convince the CSIR and Phytopharm to compensate the Bushmen. Now, any company that legally harvests hoodia gordonii from the Kalahari desert must pay royalties back to the Bushmen. Not only be this fair and just, it besides provides an excellent way too check if the hoodia you buy is legitimate. If the company that makes the hoodia is NOT paying royalties to the Bushmen, you do NOT have a legitimate hoodia gordonii product.

So when will Phytopharm unloose a P57 based appetite suppressant? Probably never. As we touched on in the overview, Pfizer had instance paid Phytopharm two save the rights to market a P57 based diet pill. After a few year of unsuccessful attempts to make P57 synthetically, Pfizer pulled out of the deal. suppose that a large substance of P57 could not be created inexpensively in the work, Pfizer was not interested.

While Phytopharm was discouraged by the Pfizer decision, they knew that Hoodia Gordonii was moreover powerful an longing suppressant to give up trying to bring it to the market. In December 2004, Phytopharm announced that Unilever had entered a deal to market hoodia gordonii in it’s diet food product line. Therefore, rather than producing diet drugs, it looks kidney Phytopharm and Unilever will product diet supplements and diet foods with hoodia. The and foremost Unilever products will not be out until 2008.

Does Phytopharm Recognize the patent on the mainly Hoodia Gordonii scatter seed? This is an interesting quiz that we are sure will be decided inn court one day. Here is our take on the situation - Phytopharm clearly owns the patent on the P57 molecule. If you want to try to make a diet medication with P57 you need to work to the core Phytopharm.

The question of the Hoodia Gordonii plant itself being patented is Greatly more complicated. It is our belief that you have power to not patent a plant, but you can patent the use of plants and a take care of to extract plants. Here is an exact quote from Richard Dixey, CEO of Phytopharm when he appeared on 60 minutes?

“The explicit is in succession the application of the plant seeking example a weight-loss material. And, of course, the active compounds in the inside of the plant. It’s not on the plant itself,” says Dixey.

So no one else can use hoodia for weight loss? “As a weight-management product out of infringing the unmistakable, that’s correct,” says Dixey.

The way we read this (and again we are not lawyers and are not gift any one legal advice) is as follows - you can sell a Hoodia Gordonii supplement, you just can NOT say it is for weight loss. This is why many of the best Hoodia supplements have very plain labels that just say “Hoodia Gordonii” but do not say anything about using it as a heaviness loss or appetite suppressant appendix.

into more information visit natural salubrity supplements blog