According to most Hoodia gordonii web sites, at least amongst the few hundred that I have visited, the answer to that question is no!

Hoodia gordonii is purported to have absolutely no side effects.

Many sites state that you can take it without any fear of complications arising from your use of Hoodia gordonii.

The more responsible sites state that you shouldn't take Hoodia gordonii if you suffer from complications such as high blood pressure, heart problems, or diabetes amongst other ailments.

Some even explain that since Hoodia gordonii depresses the hunger centre in the brain, diabetics might not eat sufficiently. This may have the side effect of their blood sugar dropping to dangerous levels!

It must be understood that it is in most websites' interests to continue the myth that there is absolutely no danger in taking Hoodia gordonii!. That there are NO SIDE EFFECTS

Most of these websites will provide a link to the brand of Hoodia gordonii that they recommend. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the website could be owned and maintained by the company whose particular brand of Hoodia gordonii it recommends.

The reason for recommending the particular brand of Hoodia gordonii, and stating that the appetite suppressant has no side effects then becomes obvious.

Some websites will recommend a particular brand of Hoodia gordonii and provide a link to the website where you can purchase this particular brand because they are an affiliate or representative of this particular brand.

By means of cookies downloaded to your computer, they are recognized as having sent you to the sales website. If you purchase the Hoodia gordonii product that they recommend they are paid commission!

Please note: Not all websites are scams as outlined. Some provide what they honestly believe is correct, (although in some cases outdated,) information regarding the side effects of Hoodia gordinii.

It should be noted that this website does not recommend any particular brand of Hoodia gordinii!

There may be adverts for particular brands but these are not endorsed by this website. This website is able to offer a free service as it derives it's income from the display of adverts and the sale of it's own product, the Africhef African Recipes Cookbook.

This enables us to make completely impartial reports on whether Hoodia gordonii has side effects.

Returning to the question regarding the side-effects of Hoodia gordonii, the following should be noted

Phytopharm, a British company obtained the licence for the commercial utilisation of Hoodia gordinii from the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research [ CSIR ]. They in turn sold these rights as a partnership to Pfizer for $20 million.

After a number of years of research Pfizer stopped its involvement with Hoodia gordonii and returned the licence to Phytopharm.

In a letter to the New York Times, Jasjit S. Bindra a former Pfizer employee stated that although Hoodia gordinii did appear to suppress appetite there were indications of unwanted [ side ] effects on the liver. These [ side ] effects were caused by components other than the active ingredient, P57, which Pfizer had not been successful in isolating.

Unilever then entered into a relationship with Phytopharm and obtained the rights to develop Hoodia gordinii.

In 2008 Unilever abandoned plans to use Hoodia gordinii in a range of diet products.

The CEO of Unilever, Paul Polmon, stated on the Unilever website "during 2008, Unilever had invested £20 million in R&D, Unilever had abandoned plans to use the slimming extract Hoodia gordinii in a range of diet products. We stopped the project because our clinical studies revealed that products using the Hoodia gordinii extract would not meet our strict standards of safety and efficacy.” [Emphasis my own]

The two reports from these universally respected companies indicate that there exists evidence of potentially serious side effects from the use of Hoodia gordonii. Detailed large-scale studies need to be undertaken, and published, in order to determine the seriousness of these potential side effects of Hoodia gordonii

It should be noted that there do not appear to be any reports relating to actual users of pure Hoodia gordonii who have experienced side effects other than a slight sense of euphoria and possibly a slightly upset stomach.