How did the BBC Report Promote Hoodia Gordonii?
The BBC Report on Hoodia Gordonii focused on its ability to induce weight loss by suppressing the appetite. Its ability to suppress appetite comes from an active ingredient called P57, which is present in Hoodia Gordonii. Tom Mangfield, the BBC correspondent who did the report, spoke to Phytopharm’s Dr Richard Dixey who explained how the ‘P57’ molecule works.
According to Dr Richard Dixey ‘P57’ works by sending signals to the hypothalamus (which is that part of the brains with nerve cells that sense glucose sugar) that the appetite is full. This is the same manner in which glucose behaves after food is eaten, only thing is that the ‘P57’ molecule in Hoodia, works is about 10,000 times faster than glucose.
Dr Richard Dixey had conducted animal trials for Hoodia by giving them to a species of rats that could eat literally anything. After taking Hoodia, these rats stopped eating completely.
In the first human clinical trial conducted by Phytopharm, on a group of morbidly obese people, half of the group were given Hoodia and another half Placebo. After fifteen days, it was noticed that the group of people who took Hoodia, had reduced their calorie intake by 1000.
In order to test this property of Hoodia Gordonii, Tom and his crew went in search of the succulent to eat one and experience the effect themselves. There they found the succulent and had some of it after, which they did not think about food all day. This was because their brain was telling them that their appetite was full and that they needed no more food. The effect in Tom’s own words was “It was a magnificent deception.†Later when they reached their hotel they went to bed without food and the following day, neither of them wanted nor ate breakfast. If was only after twenty-four hours that full appetite returned to them.
The chat with Dr. Richard Dixey and the correspondent’s own experience of the appetite suppressing capabilities of Hoodia Gordonii were the major highlights in the show that contributed to it popularity.
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