What Is the P-57 Molecule?

P-57 comes from the Hoodia Gordonii plant. The plant's active compound induces appetite suppression by fooling the brain into thinking it's full. A British pharmaceutical company holds the compound's license, and its clinical study reveals that "obese people who took P-57 (extracted from Hoodia Gordonii) ate 1,000 calories fewer per day with no adverse side effects," according to hoodia-advice.com.

History

• Pfizer purchased the marketing rights for P-57 from a British company named Phytopharm. Their goal was creating a synthetic version of P57. The simulation of P-57 was found cost prohibitive, so Pfizer is said to have dropped its deal with Phytopharm. The rights were then sold to a company by the name of Unilever.

Availability

• Because of Phytopharm's controlling interests in the substance, securing genuine P-57 remains a consumer challenge; Hoodia Gordonii must be grown in the Kalahari Desert in order to retain the appetite suppressant property of the P-57 molecule. The indigenous plant of Southern Africa cannot be grown anywhere else. If the plant manages to grow outside of the African desert, it won't contain the P-57 molecule.

Accessibility

• Hoodia-advice.com reports that consumers can purchase Hoodia Gordonii from companies that don't have an affiliation with Phytopharm. However, any reference to the term P-57 on diet pill labels invites a lawsuit. So consumers won't be able to identify products that contain P-57 readily unless the distributor has Phytopharm's permission. Also, P-57's publicity inspires the manufacturing and marketing of counterfeit versions.

Counterfeits

• Hoodia-advice.com recommends that consumers avoid buying Hoodia products from Mexico, China, or the United States. The labels of these products may read, "100 Percent Real Hoodia," but it's not the effective one that comes from the Africa's Kalahari Desert. In addition, advertisements for "Whole Hoodia Gordonii Plant" won't deliver you the P-57 molecule; that's only found below the plant's outer skin.

Controversy

• A May 2008 "Inter Press Service" news story reports the isolation of the P-57 molecule is a subject of a "bio-piracy" controversy. The story credits the initial isolation of the P-57 molecule to the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Yet before researchers found a way to isolate the P-57 molecule, the region's indigenous people, who regularly recommend Hoodia as a way of reducing caloric intake, already knew of the plant's appetite suppression abilities. Consequently, the events surrounding the P-57 molecule inspire the concern of activists who oppose the prospecting of an indigenous people's natural resources.