As we discussed in the Overview of Hoodia, the Bushmen (or the San) have used Hoodia plants as a natural appetite suppressant for thousands of years. But how did the secret of the San get out? It turns out by accident?
In 1996 the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa was doing a study of indigenous foods that the Bushmen ate. Part of the study was to test for toxic effects of any plants that were exhausted by the Bushmen. When they came to Hoodia Gordonii, not only was it non-toxic - it helped animals lose weight!
They found when they fed hoodia to animals, the animals lost weight. By 1997, the CSIR isolated the bioactive compound inn Hoodia responsible for appetite concealing and obtained a patent.