Hoodia research started when a dutch anthropologist studying the San tribe discovered the san people chewed the hoodia gordonii plants to suppress appetite during hunting trips. Year 1937.

Then, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), a south african research agency discovered the steroidal glycoside, an active elelement on hoodia gordonii plants, having appetite suppression effects. The research was held based on the San tribe experiences with Hoodia Gordonii. Was the first time a research body claimed hoodia may reduce weight.

The CSIR extended Hoodia research on steroidal glycosides working with Phytopharm, a british pharmaceutical company. They filed for a patent in South Africa in 1997 and filed for a US patent in 1999. Some clinical trials on human and animals were conducted before to file the patent and are included in patent description for the Patent 6376657.

After patent approval by the USTPO, CSIR licensed the patent rights to Phytopharm. The steroidal glycoside was named P57.

Phytopharm developed clinical trials with P57 molecule on obese groups. First results showed a 30% to 40% the caloric intake, with weight loss in the group that have taken hoodia gordonii.

A new USTPO patent (Number 6488967) was approved for Phytopharm. Patent is related to gastric acid secretion but the invention has research on Hoodia Gordonii.

Last patent on Hoodia is the Patent number 7166611 and the invention is related to pharmaceutical compositions having appetite suppressant activity, basically developed on Hoodia Gordonii. This patent was filed on 2004 and approved in January 2007.

Further research has beem conducted at Brown University Medical School in Providence. The scientists there did an investigation on P57 in Hoodia and how it affects satiety, trying to find the biochemical mechanism by which hoodia send signals to the hypotalamus. The Brown researchers did various experiments with normal, healthy rats as they injected small amounts of P57 from pure Hoodia Gordonii directly into a small cavity in their brain located above the hypothalamus.

In the hoodia research trials it was found that food intake was reduced by 50 -60% during the first 24 hours after the injections, and the effect, which was dose-dependent, lasted for about 24 to 48 hours.