The setting for the history of hoodia gordonii is southern Africa. Long before Europeans explored the continent giving Latin names to the strange plants and animals they encountered, the San peoples knew hoodia gordonii by different names; xshoba, ikhoba, xhooba, etc. The question of hoodia safety had long been answered for them. They knew that hoodia gordonii was safe to eat, though not a preferred food source. The history of hoodia gordonii as an appetite suppressant goes back to these people. When traveling or hunting they knew that hoodia gordonii would ease their hunger and thirst. There was no question about hoodia safety. It had been used traditionally to treat abdominal cramps and indigestion. It was even used to treat hypertension and diabetes. Questions of hoodia safety came later in the history of hoodia.

Credit for giving the plant a Latin name goes originally to a botanist name Francis Masson, who sailed with James Cook. He called the plant Stapelia gordonii and wrote a book about it and other species of hoodia, which he called carrion flowers, because the blooms smell like rotting meat. Later on the name Stapelia was changed to hoodia, in honor of an ardent succulent grower named Van Hood. This begins the history of hoodia gordonii, by its current name.

In the 1960