Hunters' plant is the new diet plan

It is small, green and resembles a cactus. Yet it could revolutionise dieting, allowing the overweight to skip meals and cut out snacking, all without feeling hungry.

Chewing on the hoodia plant has long been used by African hunters to allow them to return to camp without eating their catch.

Now a British company believes a tasteless white powder extracted from the plant is set to take the high street by storm as the ultimate weight loss food.

Phytopharm is developing a cereal bar and milkshake that could allow people to skip a meal without feeling hungry. The Cambridge company is growing enough hoodia in South Africa for "hundreds of millions" of doses of the extract, and revealed it has secured £6.5 million of funding for the project.

The company is negotiating with four major food companies to include hoodia in their products by 2006.

Chief executive Richard Dixey said: "A muesli bar that can let you miss a meal would be a huge seller we think."

The key to hoodia's success, said Mr Dixey, is its ability to fool the brain: "The hoodia is actually latching on to areas of the brain and tricks it into thinking you are full. It's the most basic form of weight control there is - you simply aren't hungry.

"As far as we know, this is the only way to directly influence feelings of hunger in people."

Initial trials were found to cut the number of calories taken in by around 1,000 per day, after volunteers had taken the extract daily for two weeks. However-Mr Dixey admitted some work was still needed to get the dosage right.

He said: "The most obvious dose is one that allows you to miss a meal. The problem with most diets is that you always feel hungry, which can lead to snacking. We can cut out snacking, but for a lot of people there is a real benefit from missing a full meal each day."

But nutritionist Natalie Savona believes the meal replacements could be dangerous. "The point about losing weight is to do it healthily. Skipping a meal is just not a good idea at all, except in severe cases. I would warn against these kinds of meal replacements. They just aren't healthy."

Phytopharm is also searching for a way to produce synthetic versions of the extract, which could then be used to produce a diet pill to treat the extremely obese.

Hoodia was first used by the San tribe in South Africa as an appetite supressant.

But research by a South African government laboratory proved that the plant was in fact fooling the brain.

Mr Dixey also said a portion of any profits made from the extract will be shared with the elder's council of the tribe. He added: "The San seem very happy with the deal they've got."