It is necessary to do a little research, before you can be sure that the product you are buying is genuine hoodia gordonii. There are many varieties of the hoodia plant, but only genuine hoodia gordonii is believed to be a natural appetite suppressant. The Food and Drug Administration does not approve health supplements as they do prescription drugs, so there is no FDA approved hoodia. Consumers must protect themselves by looking for certain things, before they buy.

Many people have heard about genuine hoodia gordonii. News reporters have traveled to Africa to sample the plant. Phytopharm, a British pharmaceutical company is currently researching the effects of extracts from the genuine hoodia gordonii plant. If Phytopharm ends up releasing a prescription form of hoodia, it will have to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it can be sold in the United States. But, currently there is no FDA approved hoodia. While the FDA does regulate the manufacturing practices of health supplement companies to a certain extent. The FDA does not approve or disapprove dietary supplements. It is only in rare cases when the FDA will make a statement about a health supplement.

Many health supplement companies are marketing products which claim to contain genuine hoodia gordonii for use by dieters as natural appetite suppressants. While most of these companies are undoubtedly delivering reliable and high quality products, there have been reports which state that some of these products do not contain any genuine hoodia gordonii, at all. So, how can the consumer have any confidence in the products that he or she is buying? If there is no FDA approved hoodia, then what should the consumer look for?

The first thing to look for is a CITES document. Wild growth of genuine hoodia gordonii is protected from exportation by legislation in southern Africa, the only place that genuine hoodia grows. In order to legally export genuine hoodia gordonii, a manufacturer must have a CITES license. Legally exported hoodia is grown on farms. A reputable supplement company should be willing to make their licenses available for inspection by consumers. While this is not an FDA approved hoodia product, it has been approved for export by the South African government.

The second thing to look for is chemical analysis reports. Samples of genuine hoodia gordonii are compared by independent testing facilities with samples of the health supplement in question. By the time genuine hoodia becomes a health supplement, it looks like a fine brown or light green powder, baring no resemblance to the genuine hoodia plant. But labs can still test this powder using microscopic and other techniques to determine if the powder is genuine hoodia gordonii or not. While these tests are not required by the FDA, since there is no FDA approved hoodia products, responsible manufacturers do have these tests performed.

Phytopharm has invested millions of dollars researching genuine hoodia gordonii and it