Maam,

I wonder if I could get a little info. from you re canning. Pls. let
me preface my question by noting that I know nothing about it. I have
a terrible wt. problem, have had for years. I think I've finally found
a solution in the South African succulent, Hoodia gordonii. It
entirely kills my almost always ravenous appetite. I work on ships and
am trying to come up with a way for my wife to get it to me. Fresh
Hoodia is very effective as I mentioned previously but I'm not sure
what effect drying, freezing, canning (where you heat it up etc.) or
other processes would have on its potency. Thus I'd like to find a way
to send the fresh stuff, if indeed such a thing is possible. Would it
somehow be possible to literally can it in tin cans somehow pulling a
vacuum on the can in the process to avoid oxidation and air
degradation, or to can it in something inert like nitrogen, avoiding
botulin etc.?
Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

Andy Eppink

wrote:
>
> I wonder if I could get a little info. from you re canning. Pls. let
> me preface my question by noting that I know nothing about it. I have
> a terrible wt. problem, have had for years. I think I've finally found
> a solution in the South African succulent, Hoodia gordonii. It
> entirely kills my almost always ravenous appetite.

I'm glad you found something that works for you. There is a wealth of
information about it on the web, both positive and negative. There are
also many companies selling pills containing extracts of it.

How well they actually work and if they are safe is another matter.

Many plant products are assumed to be safe because they are "natural" and
are not.

Read the Wikipedia page carefully,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoodia_gordonii

Quite simply, Pfizer owned the rights to it, and could not prove that it
was safe or effective.

Jasjit Bindra, lead researcher for hoodia at Pfizer, states there were
indications of unwanted effects on the liver caused by other components,
which could not be easily removed from the supplement, adding "Clearly,
hoodia has a long way to go before it can earn approval from the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA). Until safer formulations are developed,
dieters should be wary of using it."

So even if it works for you there is risk associated with it.


> I work on ships

That may be the cause of more trouble than it is worth. Because of the
liver effects, which may or may not occur in you, you need to have your
liver functions monitored by a doctor. I don't think your average ship's
doctor has access to the necessary laboratory equipment.

As for exporting it:

"As Hoodia gordonii is a species threatened with extinction if
international trade is not monitored, it is listed under CITES (the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora) and is illegal to export from Africa without a CITES
certificate being issued by proper authorities."

So no matter what you do, if you do it without the proper paperwork you
could end up in trouble.

It seems to me that you would be best to find a commerical extract of it
and hope that it works, and does not harm your liver.

That is also fraught with risk because many of the products that claim to
contain hoodia, don't, and even the ones that do, don't seem to do much good.

If you happen to be in the U.S. I can recommend a seed vendor, so you
could grow your own.

Geoff.
--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM