| How
Does Hoodia Work?
by Patsy Hamilton
Like many subjects relating to the
human body, the question; how does hoodia work is still
being studied. Many scientists agree that it does work
as an appetite suppressant and on-going clinical trials
are mostly concerned with issues concerning dosages,
drug interactions and other factors affecting positive
results. The connection between a portion of the brain
called the hypothalamus, hoodia gordonii and appetite
was made by scientists at Brown University. The San
of southern Africa knew nothing about the affect that
hoodia had on the brain. They only knew that it alleviated
their hunger and thirst.
Scientists at the Council for Scientific
and Industrial Research were not much concerned about
how does hoodia work. They were evaluating what is called
“bush food” to determine toxicity and possibly
for use as food or drugs. The hypothalamus hoodia connection
was not made at this time. They did discover that animals
which were given an extract of hoodia gordonii lost
weight, but the weight loss did not appear to be due
to any toxic affect. At that time they were able to
identify what they believed to be the active molecule
in hoodia gordonii and named it p57.
Research and clinical studies by
Phytopharm and later Pfizer which began in 1995 did
not address the issue of how does hoodia work, but does
hoodia work. Phytopharm performed a double blind (meaning
that neither administrators nor participants know who
is receiving a placebo and who is receiving the actual
extract) study of overweight volunteers in 2001. After
two weeks, those persons who had been given the extract
had reduced their caloric intake and lost body fat.
Phytopharm does not mention anything about the hypothalamus,
hoodia gordonii’s affect on the nerve cells of
the hypothalamus or the role played by the hypothalamus
in appetite.
Finally in 2004, someone addressed
the issue of how does hoodia work. A study at Brown
Medical School, in which the p57 molecule was isolated
from hoodia gordonii, created the hypothalamus hoodia
link. A study group of rats was injected with the p57
molecule while a control group was injected with placebo.
After 24 hours there was an increase in ATP (an important
neurotransmitter and cell energy source) in hypothalamic
neurons of 50-150% and a decrease in food intake of
40-60% in the study group. While the control group was
fed a low calorie diet for four days and exhibited a
decrease of ATP in the hypothalamus of 30-50%. The control
group was then injected with the hoodia extract and
the decrease was blocked. Interpreting the hypothalamus,
hoodia and ATP results in simplest terms; this study
indicates that the part of the brain responsible for
feelings of hunger, thirst and many other things temporarily
blocks the hunger and thirst sensations and relays a
sense of fullness, because hoodia gordonii causes an
increase in ATP, which normally decreases when food
intake is reduced. This is the best explanation we have
yet of how does hoodia work. It is often hard to determine
exactly how a chemical compound works in the human body
and this is no exception.
For more information about the hypothalamus
hoodia link, visit the Hoodia
Info Blog.
Patsy Hamilton
is an editor of the Hoodia Info Blog. Visit us at http://hoodiainfo.blogspot.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Patsy_Hamilton
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