A. Species
Scientific name: Hoodia gordonii
Common name(s): Ghaap, Bitter ghaap, Xhoba, Hoodia
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status:
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- South Africa
Country/Region:
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: National Level
Name/Details of location: South Africa
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2007
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Gathering/Cutting/Collecting terrestrial plants and fungi or their products from the wild
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal and Non-Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Medicine and hygiene
Motivation of use: Income generation from trade (individual/household/community), Largescale commercial exploitation for trade and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal and not recorded
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people, National / local government, National / local private sector and International private sector
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Details of assessment carried out: CITES Non detrimental findings
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: Published scientific literature
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The San, who are credited with the discovery oh H. gordonii as an appetite suppressant have received no acknowledgment for their intellectual contribution. While H. gordonii was under going the patenting process, the San were struggling in communities with limited resources. No significant royalties have been provided to the San.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: Published scientific literature
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: H. gordonii has been used by the San people of Southern Africa as an appetite suppressant, thirst quencher, a cure for abdominal cramps, hemorrhoids, tuberculosis, indigestion, hypertension and as an antidiabetic. However there is little data on H. gordonii's mechanism of action.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: not recorded
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2007-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2025-04-11