I am looking for a legitimate source to buy Hoodia Cactus or Hoodia
Cactus powder for resale and personal use.

Also I see some people selling on Ebay however how can I trust they are not
selling snake oil and that it is the real stuff?

Is it true this plant is only available in Africa?  Also how can a
person distinguish Hoodia Cacti from any other Cactus or powder?

Thank you in advance for your help!!!

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Clarification of Question by all4fun-ga on 30 Mar 2005 04:25 PST

Any researchers out there that can help?  Please anyone.  Thank you.

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Clarification of Question by all4fun-ga on 13 Apr 2005 11:47 PDT

Thank you Vic for your comments very good info.  Would you happend to
know any suppliers that I could purchase from?

Hello,

Before buying any Hoodia powder, you need to see documentation of:

1. Legal Exportation from South Africa.
(Do not buy Hoodia from elsewhere as there is evidence that only
Hoodia grown in SA has the appetite suppressant effect).

2. Make sure it's Hoodia GORDONII. There are about 40 different
members of the Hoodia family, and the GORDONII is the one that has
been identified.

3. Ask to see their analysis report. (All serious
growers/manufacturers will have this).

Hope this helps,

Best,

Vic

I too use this and it DOES WORK! But, you must understand it will NOT
stop you from eating...it just takes away the hunger.

If you eat, you still can overeat.

Also, many of the Hoodia is mixed w/other herbs for some added
benefits, I would recommen that you only consider 100% Hoodia.

My source is:
http://www.hoodia-diets.info

Hi, we are grower, retailer and wholesailer of many Hoodia products,
like Hoodia coffee, Hoodia tea, Hoodia capsules and the Hoodia pure
powder you are looking for.

Our website can be found at www.ethnoafrica.com please contact us for
further information.

Note we have all the Certification needed for growing and selling
please vist the site for more info on Hoodia.

Kind regards

Dave

My apologies, missed part of your question. 

*** Is it true this plant is only available in Africa?  

Hoodia or Hoodia gordonii and Hoodia currorii occurs naturally in
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Angola, thus yes only occurrence
of Hoodia is in South Africa.

***Also how can a person distinguish Hoodia Cacti from any other Cactus or powder?

Hoodia is actually a succulent but looks so much like a cactus that
most people think it one.  It is remarkably different from other cacti
in the wild but the 2 active species can mostly only be recognized in
difference when they flower.  When purchasing from e-bay or any where
else be very careful as independent investigations already proved that
only 1/3 of all the Hoodia products on the market actually contains
any Hoodia in them.  I recall an instance where a pharmaceutical
company bought Hoodia gordonii illegally from Botswana only after
manufacture to find out from the Botswana government that it was a
Trichocereus species.  This genus is mostly hallucinogenic and contain
mescaline.  Thus one wonders what all is sold out there and with what
effect? When looking to purchase this material I deem it safer to
purchase direct from South Africa and only from reputable companies
that are duly licensed.

The only true way to find out if a product is real or not is to send
it for a lab test to a reputable lab like Alkemist Pharmaceuticals but
this is costly and not all readily have such funds to their disposal.

I suggest first purchasing real Hoodia powder and clearly with a
conscious effort mark all the characteristics, like taste, odor and so
on. Then it can easily be compared though it would come no where near
a lab test?s conclusive results.

Hope this was helpful.

Dave