South Africa’s San people say food giant Unilever was working off inaccurate research data when it decided to bin a €20m investment in hoodia gordonii, the Kalahari cactus the San have used for centuries to curb hunger pangs.
Part of the reasoning for Unilever’s controversial 2008 decision to sever a €20m partnership with UK firm Phytopharm to develop the weight management plant hoodia gordonii has become apparent, with disappointing trial results published this month.
Researchers in South Africa remain confident that P57 – the active component in Hoodia gordonii at the centre of an ill-fated partnership between Unilever and UK life sciences firm Phytopharm – can be successfully commercialized
UK-based life sciences firm Phytopharm has confirmed that it is in negotiations to sell off the rights to branded hoodia weight-management ingredient P57.
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) is providing
analytical methods to help dietary supplement manufacturers and
ingredient suppliers ensure the authenticity of ingredients labeled
as Hoodia gordonii.
French plant extract supplier Naturex has added Hoodia gordonii to
its list of botanical extracts, and provides certification of
quality for the ingredient with increasing demand.
Phytopharm and Unilever are expecting progress in their efforts to
develop products using the active extract of Hoodia gordonii in
2007, and report they are satisfied with efforts to address the
problem of ineffective weight-loss...
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has posted rules informing
importers, exporters and re-exporters of their obligations for the
Hoodia species, as the US market for slimming products continues to
grow.
American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) members have identified
three hot areas of concern or debate for the herbal industry,
prompting the association to form special committees on Hoodia
gordonii, Ayurvedic herbal products,...
UK company Pure Herbal Extracts has found a way to culture the
appetite-suppressing molecule from a strain of hoodia and plans to
launch supplements containing a guaranteed dose of the active
ingredient in the next six months, reports...