FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS*
We know that most of the visitors to our website may not be familiar with hoodia and its potential uses. Some responses to some Frequently Asked Questions have been posted here. If you have questions about our Hawaiian Hoodia™ products please contact us.
I just want to try a few plants or seeds to grow hoodia for personal use but your online store has a confusing array of species and varieties. How to I make a selection?
The store listings were initially setup to meet the needs of researchers and plant collectors who want to purchase specific types of plants. For your purposes all of the Hawaiian Hoodia™ products should be expected to have about the same medicinal properties. Hoodia gordonii has been most common and widely used species used in supplements for appetite suppression. Our premium tetraploid cultivars of this species generally grow faster and larger than the diploid (wild type) cultivars. Hoodia parviflora is the largest and fastest growing species and it has a more upright growing habit so it’s a good choice if you have limited space. It is also finding increasing use in dietary supplements. The plants of H. parviflora cultivars we currently offer are large and costly to ship but already at a good harvestable size.
How do I know that the medicinal compounds for appetite suppression are present in plants grown in artificial cultivation?
Most of our cultivars of Hoodia gordonii were developed from a high performing diploid cultivar referred to as HG-NC1 that was grown for several generations in artificial cultivation. Cuttings from this plant were analyzed and found to contain the same chromatographic profile and levels of P-57, the marker for appetite suppressing steroidal glycoside compounds, as were typically present in wild plants of this species. A copy of the certified analysis report can be made available on request. We have not been able to do testing of the other species and cultivars that we offer because the analytical costs are prohibitive. Bitterness is probably a good indicator of the presence of appetite suppressing compounds in hoodia and cuttings taken from mature specimens of these other species and varieties are bitter. Young seedlings often lack appreciable bitterness.
The levels of these compounds may also vary because many factors such as maturity, season, soil, nutrients and particularly stress levels can affect the concentrations of medicinal compounds in plants. In fact, the use of stressing conditions has been used to enhance the biosynthesis of valuable metabolites in plants (da Silva et al. 2014) and the presence of stress induced compounds may convey health benefits to their consumers (Hooper et al. 2010). This has not been investigated in hoodia but we have observed that cuttings from plants actively growing under ideal cultivation conditions are less bitter than cuttings from mature plants stressed by mealybugs, harvesting and other stressors.
How much should I use?
We recommend placing a small piece of hoodia on the tongue or chewing it to expose receptors on the tongue to the bioactive bitter compounds of the plant. You don’t need to consume it.
Can hoodia cuttings be dried for later use?
Yes, but we don’t recommend this. It’s unclear what will happen to the bioactive compounds in the fresh plant after drying and it may also be difficult to use the dried slices to get the bitter taste that may be needed to activate the receptors in your tongue.
Slices of hoodia can be dried in a food dryer set at a low temperature. Since plant tissue is mostly water they will shrink and become very light weight. The dried material should be stored in a sealed, moisture resistant container, in a cool dry place.
 Dried Hoodia Slices |
Can hoodia cuttings be frozen for later use?
Yes. Thawed cuttings will be soft and difficult to handle for thorn removal so it is best to remove the thorns and cut it into chunks or slices before freezing. The pieces can be placed on waxed paper on a cookie sheet to keep them from sticking together during freezing. After freezing, seal them in a freezer bag.
 Thawed Hoodia Slices |
What is the status of Hoodia as a food in the United States?
Hoodia has probably been consumed as a vegetable to a limited extent for thousands of years and we are not aware of any U.S. regulations specifically regulating such direct use as fresh produce.
It is subject to regulation as a food ingredient. Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA). Under this act, any substance that is intentionally added to food is a food additive, that is subject to premarket review and approval by FDA, unless the substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excepted from the definition of a food additive. FDA regulations substance is generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use, or unless the use of the substance is otherwise excepted from the definition of a food additive.
The Act refers to these excepted foods as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) (FDA 2020) and the Food and Drug Administration has established the criteria under which GRAS status can be established (FDA 2016, 2020). These include self-affirmation and at least one manufacturer of hoodia products have self-affirmed GRAS status. The FDA has not officially confirmed GRAS status and a search of the FDA’s GRAS Notice database (FDA 2020b) found no notices for hoodia filed since 1998.
Most hoodia products are marketed as dietary supplements and are not reviewed by the FDA to determine whether they are safe or effective, and they are not subject to the quality standards and safety information collection standards that are applicable to most prescription drugs.
Uncertainty existed concerning the requirement for Hoodia gordonii to be approved as a new food ingredient or a dietary supplement under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (Holt and Taylor 2006) and this uncertainty has persisted. Our information on this subject may not be current or accurate. Official information and guidance should be obtained directly from the Food and Drug Administration or other applicable regulatory agencies.
Can Hoodia be sold as a food in the European Union?
The European Union’s Novel Foods Regulation 258/97 requires that all food and food ingredients that have not been used for human consumption in the EU before May 15, 1997 (such as Hoodia) be considered a novel food or a novel food ingredient. Hoodia gordonii is not authorized as a novel food (USDA-FAS 2014). The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has decided that novel foods with a maximum of 9.4 milligrams of Hoodia parviflora per daily dose are allowed on the European Market (EFSA 2017).
Our information on this subject may not be current or accurate. Official information and guidance should be obtained directly from the EFSA or other applicable regulatory agencies.
*DISCLAIMER
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not evaluated the statements on this website and no claims are made by Sustainable Bioresources, LLC as to the medicinal value of any of our products. The statements and information presented here is intended for educating our customers about the uses of our products and is not to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease, or to replace the advice or other services of your physician. Users are responsible for understanding the safe application of our products.
References for this Section
EFSA (European Food Safety Agency) 2017. Safety of dried aerial parts of Hoodia parviflora as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 258/97. EFSA Journal 15(10):5002. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2017.5002
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).). 2020a. Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS). https://www.fda.gov/food/food-ingredients-packaging/generally-recognized-safe-gras [Accessed 06 August 2020].
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2016. Substances Generally Recognized as Safe, Final Rule. Federal Register, 81: 54959-55055.
FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2020b. GRAS Notices. https://www.cfsanappsexternal.fda.gov/scripts/fdcc/?set=GRASNotices&sort=GRN_No&order=DESC&startrow=1&type=basic&search=hoodia [Accessed 7 August 2020].
USDA-FAS (U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service) 2014. EU-28 Negative List for Novel Foods and Ingredients. Global Agricultural Information Network. GAIN Report No. E14034. https://apps.fas.usda.gov/newgainapi/api/report/downloadreportbyfilename?filename=Negative%20List%20for%20Novel%20Foods%20and%20Ingredients_Brussels%20USEU_EU-28_7-14-2014.pdf [Accessed 05 August 2020].
This section was last updated on August 10, 2020.