Ginkgo Biloba Benefits

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Ginkgo biloba is an ancient, powerful healing herb.

• Ginkgo biloba
• Standardized leaf extracts of ginkgo are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and improve circulation in the brain.
• The extracts also protect brain cells from beta-amyloid, a misfolded protein that accumulates in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Hardy through Zone 4

It seems fitting that ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), a species of tree that thrived 65 million years ago and continues to thrive today, is used worldwide to treat conditions associated with aging.

Ginkgo as Medicine

The Chinese treasured the ginkgo tree first for its food, considering the nuts (seed kernels) a delicacy. The first known use of ginkgo as a medicinal plant dates to 2800 b.c. Early on, ginkgo was thought to increase longevity and stamina largely because the tree itself was so hardy. (As a 20th-century testament to its hardiness, the only tree to survive the atomic blast in Hiroshima was a ginkgo that sprouted from its base after its trunk was completely destroyed.) The Chinese also used the seeds to treat venereal disease, asthma, lung congestion, diarrhea and impaired hearing.

In the past half century, ginkgo has been extensively researched in Europe as a treatment for memory loss, dementia, stroke, asthma and tinnitus (ringing in the ears). Today, European physicians prescribe ginkgo more often than any other herb or drug. Ginkgo appears to enhance health in three general ways. It improves circulation and oxygen metabolism. Ginkgo also prevents cell damage by free radicals and reduces blood clotting.

Ginkgo leaves and roots contain flavone glycosides, which consist of a mix of bioflavonoids that are known antioxidants, including quercetin and kaempferol. Ginkgo also contains terpene lactones such as bilobalide and ginkgolides, which have been shown to protect nerve cells, keep blood from clotting and improve blood circulation. Virtually all of the more than 2,600 studies of ginkgo have used an extract of the leaf (EGb) standardized to 24 percent flavone glycosides and 6 percent terpene lactones.

Ginkgo Biloba Benefits: Improving Brain Function

Ginkgo extract is the best treatment known for inadequate blood flow to the brain caused by weakened blood vessels or impaired circulation due to an overproduction of platelet-activating factor (PAF), which activates immune cells responsible for inflammation and blood clotting. Restricted blood flow to the brain is extremely common among the elderly and is characterized by memory loss, decreased alertness, headaches and depression.