Ginkgo Biloba for Alzheimer's Disease

Ginkgo biloba is a Chinese medicine that has been used for centuries. Ginkgo is one of the most popular herbs in the USA and Europe. The medicine is extracted from leaves of the ginkgo biloba tree and is believed to improve brain function.

Research however shows only minimal benefits. Various studies claim ginkgo biloba has;

The difficulty of stating absolutes about ginkgo's effectiveness is that research findings vary in their results. Some clinical trials do show some small positive effects on people with Alzheimer's disease, other studies no effect.

Gold, Carhill and Wenk (2003)say in their prospective study (extensive review) that, "Our overriding impression, however, is that we do not have enough information to say conclusively whether ginkgo does or does not improve cognition".

At the present time there is no evidence that ginkgo biloba will cure or prevent Alzheimer's disease. One large scale clinical research project by the National Institute on Aging may soon give us more insight into the therapeutic effects of ginkgo and whether it prevents dementia.

Dosage of ginkgo biloba
A dosage of 120mg a day of ginkgo biloba broken into two or three dosages is typical.

Side effects of ginkgo biloba
Ginkgo is popular in the States and in Europe but it does have some serious side effects. Ginkgo is known to cause clotting problems and can have an adverse reaction to anesthesia.

As with many herbal remedies the amount of the active ingredients are not standardized and can vary between the various gingko products.

01/07/2006

Sources:
Gold P.E, Cahill L.2, Wenk G.L, 'Ginkgo Biloba: A Cognitive Enhancer?' Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Volume 3, Number 1, May 2002, pp. 2-11(10)