The Ginkgo biloba tree is the world's oldest living tree species - geological records indicate this plant has been growing on earth for 150 - 200 million years. Chinese monks are credited with keeping the tree in existence, as a sacred herb and ginkgo biloba has been used in China for hundreds of years. For herbal purposes the ginkgo biloba leaves are used in the form of a concentrated, standardized extract (GBE). Ginkgo biloba GBE is among the most widely used prescription medicines in Germany and France, and it is one of the most popular herbs sold in the US. The extract of ginkgo biloba is used extensively for circulatory and asthmatic conditions, as well as auditory problems such as tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and it is also used as a treatment for vertigo.
Primarily, it is the leaves of the Ginkgo Biloba tree that are used to produce ginkgo biloba GBE extract. This extract concentration generally is produced at a 50:1 ratio, (50 pounds of ginkgo biloba leaves result in 1 pound of GBE extract). The ginkgo biloba tree is extensively cultivated to supply the expanding market for the ginkgo biloba leaf extract, GBE. Most of the extracts available on the American market are made from leaves produced on the millions of shrub-sized trees on a Ginkgo biloba plantation owned by a German/French company in Sumter, South Carolina and also from smaller plantations in France near Bordeaux.
Preparations of standardized ginkgo biloba GBE are adjusted to a potency of 24% flavanoids and 6% terpenes (ginkgolides). Controlled medical studies of extracts like ginkgo biloba GBE use controlled manufactured extracts, which may not be the same as those sold commercially by unknown brands and grocery store quality ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba is available in solid and liquid form. The usual dose is 40 mg. 3 times per day. Ginkgo biloba extract and capsules should be taken for 12 weeks in order to be effective.
Ginkgo biloba works in an interesting way with two groups of active substances, flavonoids and terpene lactones, including ginkgolides A, B, and C, bilobalide, quercetin, and kaempferol. The ginkgolides have been shown to control allergic inflammation, anaphylactic shock and asthma. The flavonoids in ginkgo biloba extract function as antioxidants and free-radical scavengers, helping to prevent cell damage.
Ginkgo biloba GBE also works by increasing blood flow to the brain and throughout the body's network of blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the organ systems. It increases metabolism efficiency, regulates neurotransmitters, and boosts oxygen levels in the brain, which uses 20% of the body's oxygen. The second type of active ingredient in ginkgo
biloba GBE, terpenes, helps to reduce blood clots by reducing the platelet aggregation. GBE promotes vasodilation and improved blood flow in the arteries and capillaries.
Most studies of ginkgo biloba have been performed in Europe where more than 40 clinical trials involving more than 9000 participants have been completed. In the USA a 1997 study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that use of ginkgo biloba GBE could improve mental functioning in people with dementia and slow the progression of dementia in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's Disease. Two large-scale studies sponsored by the National Institutes of Health are examining the effectiveness of ginkgo biloba in preventing dementia and cognitive decline in the elderly. At this time there is no evidence that Ginkgo improves memory in normal people, although in clinical tests ginkgo biloba has improved hearing loss in the
elderly. In 1988 Dr. Corey of Harvard University won the Nobel prize, and one the reasons was the fact that he synthesized ginkgolide B, which is being investigated for its use to prevent rejection of transplanted organs and for asthma and toxic shock.
Ginkgo Biloba Extract
Ginkgo Biloba Extract's active compounds improve blood parameters and
act as a free radical scavenger to protect cell membranes in the brain
and other tissues. They increase the uptake and utilization of oxygen
and glucose; help increase the flow of blood to the brain and
extremities; regulate neurotransmission to help protect against memory
loss and mood imbalance.* Each capsule contains 60 mg Ginkgo Biloba
extract standardized to yield 14.4 mg Ginkgo flavone glycosides.
Other ingredients: gelatin, water.
As a dietary supplement, take 1-2 capsule daily with meals.
* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug
Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure,
or prevent any disease.
