Ginkgo Biloba Health Benefits, Side Effects

What Is Ginkgo Biloba (銀杏 )

Scientific Name: Ginkgo Biloba L.

Other Names :Maidenhair tree, Kew tree, Japanese silver apricot, Yin kuo,

Also spelled as:Ginko biloba, or Gingko biloba.

Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) is a broadleaf, deciduous tree that reaches to a height of 100 feet while some have been reported to reach 160 feet. Ginkgo biloba is considered to be one of the oldest surviving tree specie found today and is considered unique. Ginkgo biloba was believed to inhabit the world through out but have recently dwindled with only a few trees found in the wild in China where some are believed to have lived for over 2,000 years. Ginkgo biloba is believed to be a mystical tree and is venerated by Buddhist monks being planted around Buddhist temples and Chinese Royal Imperial gardens. In recent history, Ginkgo biloba was widely cultivated and introduced in Japan, Europe and the United States for its medicinal uses and health benefits.
Ginkgo biloba tree grows is an upright columnar, sparsely branched in youth, but usually becoming an upright oval to upright spreading growth habit as it matures. Ginkgo branches become highly irregular with age having usually deep seated roots that are wind and snow resistant. Ginkgo biloba trees are very tolerant against disturbances that it can grow well in urban areas. It is even reported that few Ginkgo trees survived the damaging effects of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima Japan.
Ginkgo leaves are fan-shaped with veins radiating out into the leaf blade. The leaves are lobed where its name was derived in latin“bis” meaning two and “loba” meaning lobe. Ginkgo biloba leaves are usually 6 to 10 cm long but may grow up to 15 cm. Leaves are alternate and regularly spaced on branches and they tend to cluster at the tips for young shoots. Ginkgo leaves are green during spring and summer and turns to golden yellow by fall.

Ginkgo biloba flowers grow from the short boughs that appear in April to May. Ginkgo biloba is a dioecious species meaning there is male and female tree. The male flowers are yellowish catkins joined together by 2 to 5 in long clusters from 4 to 7 cm in length at the end of the side boughs. The female flowers of Ginkgo tree are bare, without floral parts, grouped per pairs, or three, or, insulated, lengthily pedunculate, green, forked at the end, claviform, equipped with two free ovules.
Ginkgo biloba has long been used in Chinese medicine for its many medicinal uses. Recently, medical science took interest in its many health benefits that it became one of the most studied herb today. Ginkgo has gained wide acceptance as herbal medicine with many health benefits in United Kingdom, Germany, France and United States, making it one of the most popular herbal medication.

Nutrients And Chemical Constituents Of Ginkgo Biloba

The primary active constituents in Ginkgo biloba are the flavonoids (glycosides) and terpenoids (ginkgolide). Other constituents in Ginkgo biloba are amino acid-6-hydrozykynurenic acid, dimeric flavones (bilobetin, ginkgetin, isoginkgetin, scieadopitysin), ascorbic acid, carotenoids, and bilobalide, ginkgolic acid and proanthocyanidins,

Medicinal Uses And Health Benefits From Ginkgo

Chinese medicine has long used Ginkgo biloba for its apparent health benefit to improve blood flow and circulation thus it is used for cleaning the body of toxins and helping other nutrients to reach vital body parts.

Medicinal uses include treatment of blood disorders, improving blood circulation to brain thereby improving memory and as treatment for dementia and depression. Ginkgo biloba likewise offer health benefits for the respiratory system. Medicinal uses include treatment for asthma, bronchitis, coughs and wheezing. Other medicinal uses include treatment for incontinence, intestinal worms, tinnitus, vertigo and gonorrhea.

The many traditional medicinal uses from Ginkgo biloba attracted scientific researches that have confirmed some of its claimed health benefits.
Scientific evidence shows that Ginkgo biloba contains active antioxidants called flavonoids and terpenoids that have been found to improve blood circulation by widening the blood vessels while at the same time thinning the blood. This activity of Ginkgo biloba extracts effectively improves the transfer of needed oxygen to different body cells including the brain thus improving its function. Ginkgo’s active constituents likewise scavenge free radicals thereby protecting cell members against its damaging effects. Ginkgo is now being considered as an alternative medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, cancer and heart problems.

Scientific Studies Of Ginkgo Biloba Health Benefits

Memory Enhancement

An article from The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2002, entitled “Ginkgo for memory enhancement: a randomized controlled trial” reported that the results of a 6-week study indicate that ginkgo did not facilitate performance on standard neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, attention, and concentration or naming and verbal fluency in elderly adults without cognitive impairment. These data suggest that when taken at manufacturer's instructions, ginkgo provides no measurable health benefit.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12186600

Anti Inflammatory

A report published in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. 2012 entitled “Anti-inflammatory and PPAR Transactivational Effects of Components from the Stem Bark of Ginkgo biloba” provided scientific support for the use of Ginkgo biloba stem bark for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Active compounds found in Ginkgo biloba have been found to effect a transcriptional inhibitory function based on decreases in COX-2 and iNOS gene expression in HepG2 cells. This result suggests that Ginkgo biloba may offer health benefits for inflammation and metabolic diseases.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22352956

Alzheimer’s Disease

An article published in Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift. 2010 entitled “Ginkgo biloba in Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review” reported a systematic review of the benefit of treatment with Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) concerning patient-relevant outcomes. It was reported that among studies administering high-dose Ginkgo (240 mg), all studies favor treatment and reported that there are health benefits from of Ginkgo supplementation for daily activities of Alzheimer’s patients. There is evidence of improved cognition and the accompanying psychopathological symptoms show an indication of health benefit. There were no reported side effects from Ginkgo.  The report is not conclusive and further study is recommended to establish its health benefits for Alzheimer’s disease patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21170694

Lower Blood Pressure

In an article published in Phytomedicine. 2011 entitled “Ginkgo biloba extract (EGb 761) normalizes hypertension in 2K, 1C hypertensive rats: role of antioxidant mechanisms, ACE inhibiting activity and improvement of endothelial dysfunction” reported that in a study involving rats with induced elevation of systolic blood pressure by kidney clipping showed potential health benefit for hypertensive rats. The treatment of hypertensive rats with Ginkgo biloba extract (60, 90, 180 mg/kg/day orally) showed that the nitric oxide level and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) activity remained the same in the serum. The observed benefits of the EGb 761 may be attributed to different factors, including ACE inhibition and maintenance of cellular antioxidant capacity as well as preserving vascular reactivity towards endothelium-dependent and -independent vasodilators while inhibiting responses to vasoconstrictors.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21353510

Ovarian Cancer

An article published in European Journal of Cancer Prevention. 2011 entitled “Ginkgo may prevent genetic-associated ovarian cancer risk: multiple biomarkers and anticancer pathways induced by ginkgolide B in BRCA1-mutant ovarian epithelial cells” reported that women carrying BRCA1 mutations have a higher risk of developing ovarian cancers. Ginkgo biloba extracts were considered to provide alternative treatment to inhibit BRCA1 mutations thereby reducing the risk for nonmucinous ovarian cancer. Anticancer activities and the associated networking pathways with the altered proteins were analyzed by using the Pathway Studio software after Ginkgo biloba treatment. Analysis showed that the pathways include cell proliferation, tumor suppression, and DNA damage repair, suggesting that Ginkgo biloba may have cancer-preventive benefit in BRCA1-mutant ovarian epithelial cells.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21857521

Colon Cancer

Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry. 2011 entitled “Effects of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb761 on human colon adenocarcinoma cells” reported that EGb 761 an extract from Ginkgo biloba inhibited the growth of HT-29 cells in a time-dose-dependent manner. At 80 and 320 mg/L, EGb 761 increased the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase and reduced cells in the G2/M and S phase. EGb 761 treatment also increased the apoptosis ratio of the HT-29 cells. EGb 761 treatment was associated with an increase in caspase-3 activities, reduction in bcl-2 mRNA expression and elevation in p53 mRNA expression.
These results suggest that EGb 761 offers medical benefit by inhibiting the progression of human colon cancer cells. Its therapeutic effect may be related to enhanced caspase-3 activities, up-regulation of p53 and down-regulation of bcl-2 genes.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21471711

Cancer

There are mixed review on the beneficial effects of Ginkgo biloba in the development of cancer. While some reports suggests that Ginkgo may offer health benefits for ovarian and colon cancer, a report published in the Pharmacoepidemiol Drug Safety. 2010 entitled “Ginkgo biloba and risk of cancer: secondary analysis of the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) Study” indicated that in a 6.1 years of clinical intervention of 75+ year old subjects administered with standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba showed there is no significant reduction of hospital reported cancer incidence. This report suggests that there is no subjective evidence that will support the hypothesis that Ginkgo biloba reduces the risk of cancer.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20582906

Tinnitus

An article in the Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2011 entitled “Ginkgo biloba extract in the treatment of tinnitus: a systematic review” reported that one of the frequently prescribed herbal treatments for tinnitus is Ginkgo biloba extract.  Therefore, evidences for this health benefit from Ginkgo biloba were searched and reviewed systematically. Based on the review, there is evidence that standardized extract of Ginkgo biloba, EGb 761(®) (Dr Willmar Schwabe GmbH & Co KG Pharmaceuticals, Karlsruhe, Germany) ahs been found to be effective in the treatment of tinnitus as a result of clinical trials. It further suggests that EGb 761(®), a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract, is an evidence-based treatment option in tinnitus.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21857784

Glaucoma

In a study published in Korean Journal of Ophthalmology. 2011, entitled “Short-term effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on peripapillary retinal blood flow in normal tension glaucoma” the evaluation of the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on peripapillary blood flow in patients with normal tension glaucoma (NTG) was done. The study has suggested that Ginkgo biloba extract administration appears to have desirable effect on ocular blood flow in normal tension glaucoma patients.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21976939

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

In a study conducted  in Peripheral Vascular Diseases Research Unit, University Department of Medicine, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee, UK, entitled “The use of Ginkgo biloba in Raynaud's disease: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial” reported that through a 10 week assessment period of the monitoring the number of attacks per day of Raynaud’s phenomenon in group of patients given with Ginkgo biloba extract and placebo, there were no significant differences in haamorrheology between the two groups. .However, those that are given Ginkgo biloba extract benefited with reduced incidence of attack in comparison to those given with placebo. This study suggests that ginkgo biloba phytosome may be effective in reducing the number of Raynaud's attacks per week in patients suffering from Raynaud's disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12710841

 

 

Ginkgo Biloba Availability And Dosage

Ginkgo biloba are available in most drug stores and health stores. Ginkgo can be bought in dried leaf form to be used as a tea concoction. Ginkgo biloba capsules, tinctures, tablets and standardized extracts are also available.
Ginko biloba is available online at amazon such as the Ginkgo Biloba 400mg Standardized Extract

How to Take Ginkgo Biloba

Pediatric: Ginkgo is not recommended to children.
Adult: Clinical studies have often used dosages of 120 mg to 480 mg of ginkgo biloba per day, divided in two or three smaller doses. It is recommended to use lower dosage at the start to avoid unwanted side effects. Always follow recommended dosage as advised by a competent health practitioner or by the product label.

Bear in mind that Ginkgo biloba is considered as a supplement and not as medicine. Manufacturing procedures are not closely regulated. To get the highly quality Ginkgo supplements, always buy from a reputable source or brand. Look for the USP mark.

Ginkgo Biloba Side Effects And Warnings

Ginkgo biloba is not recommended for use by children, pregnant women and breast feeding mothers.
Ginkgo biloba may cause the following side effects: head ache, stomach ache, skin irritations and dizziness.
There were reported incidents that Ginkgo can cause stomach bleeding

Precautions:

Ginkgo fruits and seeds are not edible.
Ginkgo biloba can liquefy the blood and can aggravate bleeding to those with bleeding disorders.
Ginkgo can trigger seizures to those suffering with epilepsy.
Ginkgo biloba can alter the blood insulin level; diabetic patients should take caution and seek the advice of their doctor before taking Ginkgo supplements.

Possible Interactions:

Ginkgo can heighten the effect of other blood thinning medications and may cause bleeding.
Ginkgo biloba supplements can interact with diabetes medications.
Ginkgo supplements can reinforce the bad and the good effects of antidepressant drugs such as Citalopram (Celexa), Escitalopram (Lexapro), Fluoxetine (Prozac), Fluvoxamine (Luvox),  Paroxetine (Paxil), Sertraline (Zoloft). It should only be taken under doctor’s supervision.
Ginkgo supplements can lower blood pressure level and can interact with other blood lowering medications.