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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) posted a letter on its Web site, dated March 29, 2006, clarifying the current rules for importing, exporting, and re-exporting into or out of the United States any live or dead specimens of Hoodia spp., including parts and products.1
All species of Hoodia were listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on January 12, 2005. CITES regulates international trade for taxa that are listed in any of its three Appendices (see www.cites.org). Accordingly, all international Hoodia shipments must be accompanied by an Appendix II permit or certificate issued by the appropriate CITES Management Authority. Two important points to note with regard to this listing are that it covers finished products, and that it was annotated to exclude material labeled as being produced (i.e., harvested or cultivated) under an agreement among the CITES Management Authority of Botswana, Namibia, or South Africa. This label would exclude the material from CITES controls (i.e., not require a CITES permit). However, this agreement has not been finalized and no material is currently being traded under any such label. If such an agreement were concluded, the FWS has indicated that it will post a notice on its website informing the public of any new requirements for international trade in Hoodia species. Currently, all Hoodia parts and products originating from any country (including non-range countries) must be accompanied by permits or certificates.
Products labeled as containing herb material from the genus Hoodia have become increasingly popular in the United States, the primary use being as an ingredient in dietary supplements sold for weight loss. The process for extracting P57, the active ingredient believed to be responsible for suppressing the appetite, was patented in 1997 by South Africa’s Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). CSIR granted rights to the extract to the British company Phytopharm, which in turn, licensed the pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer (New London, Conn.), to develop a weight-loss drug derived from the patented material. Pfizer abandoned such plans several years ago. According to a recent article in The New York Times, a spokesperson for Pfizer, Kate Robins, stated that early research suggested that P57 would be “too difficult to synthesize and could not readily be made into a drug in pill form.”2 In 2004, PhytoPharm licensed the Dutch multinational giant Unilever to develop either Hoodia extracts and/or P57 for the sale in the market as a clinically-tested food ingredient for appetite control.3
In January of 2006, the American Herbal Products Association, the leading trade association representing the interests of importers, growers, manufacturers and processors, and distributors of botanical products, issued a trade recommendation that the recognized common name to be used throughout the herb industry in the United States be “Hoodia gordonii” when referring specifically to material derived from that species. (For more, see related story in HerbalEGram, April, 2006: http://www.herbalgram.org/default.asp?c=ahpahoodialabel.)
The Hoodii gordonii letter from FWS is available at: http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/3-29-06_Hoodia_Importer-Exporter_letter.pdf.
-Courtney Cavaliere and Mark Blumenthal
ABC and HerbalEGram acknowledge Patricia DeAngelis, PhD of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service for her invaluable assistance in reviewing this article.
References
1. Fish and Wildlife Service. Letter to Importers / Exporters / Re-exporters of specimens, parts, and/or products of Hoodia spp.. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, March 29, 2006. Available at: <http://www.fws.gov/international/pdf/3-29-06_Hoodia_Importer-Exporter_letter.pdf>.
2. Duenwald M. An appetite killer for a killer appetite? Not yet. New York Times April 19, 2006.
3. Unilever gains exclusive rights to Phytopharm’s hoodia extract. NutraIngredients.com Web site. Available at: http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/news-by-product/news.asp?id=56814&idCat=&k=unilever-gains-exclusive. Accessed May 4, 2006.
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