Active Ingredient P57 is an oxypregnane steroidal glycoside isolated from the African cactiform Hoodia gordonii. P57 is the only active ingredient from this plant that has been reported to be soley responsible for the potential appetite suppressant activity of Hoodia extracts.

A rat study at Brown Medical School, intracerebroventricular injections of purified active ingredient P57 demonstrated that the compound has a likely central nervous system (CNS) mechanism of action.

Studies demonstrated that the compound increases the content of ATP by 50-150% in hypothalamic neurons. Furthermore, the third ventricle administration of the active ingredient P57 reduced subsequent 24-hour food intake by 40-60%.

Clinical Studies of P57 and Hoodia Gordonii

To date 24 obese (BMI>26) and 42 non-obese non-patient volunteers have received doses of P57P ranging from 3 to 4000 mg. Primary measures in these studies included clinical toleration, haematological and biochemical assessments of safety and pharmacokinetics. No treatment related serious adverse events have been reported.

P57 Intellectual Property

Through an extensive programme of research a molecule has been identified which appears to be responsible for part if not all of the desired therapeutic activity. This molecule and synthetic derivatives are subjects for patent activity.

While p57 holds plenty of promise to help people regulate weight without having to resort to pharmaceuticals, Prof Blundell said that, as more of the mysteries of appetite regulation are cracked, more targets for treatments will become apparent.

Recently a new hormone was discovered that seems to suppress appetite - obestatin. "It's clear that there are many molecules floating around in our bodies doing things with some functional properties that we haven't yet discovered.

For scientists trying to work out how to curb the obesity problem, a product that can be simply added to food may have immense value.

"There's every prospect of finding an appetite-controlling molecule in this or other plants.