JOHANNESBURG - A Southern African plant used by poor nomads to suppress appetite, and which has attracted interest from major pharmaceutical companies looking for anti-obesity drugs, was the star turn Thursday at a conference called to oppose the exploitation of biological resources.

The conference, held to highlight so-called "bio-piracy" ahead of next week's United Nations Earth Summit, heard that the nomadic San people, who use the plant and are spread over six regional countries, were seeking to ensure that any financial benefits from its use do not bypass them.

Hoodia Gordonii, a succulent plant which can grow up to two meters (six feet) tall, is traditionally used by the San, most of whom live in extreme poverty, as an appetite depressant and to alleviate stomach pains.

The conference heard that the San had entered into talks with the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), for a "firm commitment" to receive a share of the benefits of the future success of the hoodia plant.

The CSIR recently registered the research on hoodia for patenting and passed on its findings to Phytopharm of Britain and U.S. Pharmaceutical Company Pfizer who both want to use it as a prescription obesity drug. David Fig from the biowatch South Africa group said: "This is the first major case in South Africa where an ethnic group is demanding benefits for the future use of their traditional knowledge of a local plant, so it's in a sense a test case."

Victoria Geingos, a San member, said: "We used it on children who eat too much to make them eat less. But if this practice is carried out for longer than three months, the child could die, so hoodia has to be used with caution. "We also use it to treat allergic reactions in the eyes and treat severe stomach pains by boiling hoodia in water and drinking it. San hunters suppressed their hunger and maintained energy levels on two-three-day hunting trips by eating hoodia." She added: "Now companies want to use it to help young people follow the dictates of fashion."

The anti-biopiracy conference is one of the major non-formal events taking place in Johannesburg ahead of the upcoming Earth Summit, and global activists are actively lobbying for measures to end the stealing of the biological resources of developing countries by rich nations and companies.

Mothambo Ngakaeja, another San activist, said the motive behind their move was not greed.

"We have not withheld our knowledge of hoodia from other ethnic groups. We have come to realize, however, that we need to protect our intellectual property and we have taken measures to prevent further exploitation. "We have lost a lot of land. Our culture is vanishing. This gives us an opportunity to get back our land and preserve our culture."

The San are spread over Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe, AFP reported.

However, San activists said the negotiations were at a delicate stage and it was still unclear if they would actually receive any monetary benefits. Another problem is the equitable sharing of the booty, if there is any, among people spread over different countries. A social activist said on condition of anonymity: "These people are poor and have very little knowledge of the legal system. That is why they have to go through the CSIR. They just might end up with a very small percentage."

San leader Petrus Vaal Booi said: "It's a traditional food and medicine for us. But things have happened which have hurt us very much. "People have spoken on our behalf and signed documents on our behalf. The San people are much closer to each other than the world supposes. It is only fair that the benefits be shared. We have had very fruitful negotiations with the CSIR and so far it's been a relationship of trust."

Marthinus Horak of CSIR said the body had always intended to get in touch with the San, but not too soon to avoid raising false hopes in case the drugs failed.