Ginkgo biloba
(Ginkgo)

Therapeutic Actions:

• Antioxidant, inhibiting lipid peroxidase and free radical damage
• Decreases platelet aggregation, adhesion and degranulation
• Diminishes cerebral edema
• Enhances membrane sodium-potassium ATPase
• Enhances utilization of oxygen and increases cellular uptake of glucose
• Improves mitochondrial respiration
• Improves synthesis of cerebral neurotransmitters
• Inhibits phosphodiesterase, increasing cAMP and promoting smooth muscle relaxation
• Inhibits the action of proteolytic enzymes
• Modulation of neurotransmitter
• Normalizes acetylcholine receptors in the hippocampus
• Normalizes circulation in areas most affected by microembolization, i.e. hippocampus and stratum
• Protects a transplanted kidney against cyclosporin damage
• Protects against radiation-induced injuries as shown in the use of ginkgo at the Chernobyl disaster
• Stabilizes lysomal membranes
• Vasodilation by direct stimulation of the release of endothelium-derived relaxing factor and prostacyclin)

Clinical Indications:

• Aging prevention
• Alzheimer's disease
• Atherosclerosis
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Congestive heart failure
• Depression
• Eczema
• Hypertension
• Hypothyroidism
• Impotence
• Macular degeneration
• Memory loss
• Migraine headache
• Multiple sclerosis
• Ovarian cancer
• Schizophrenia
• Bed wetting
• Chemical toxicity
• Coronary ischemia
• Degenerative diseases
• Dementia
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Dizziness and disturbed equilibrium
• Erectile dysfunction
• Hearing loss, tinnitus
• Inappropriate platelet aggregation
• Intermittent claudication
• Migraines due to its ability to stabilize platelets and serotonin levels in the brain
• Raynauds disease
• Retinal insufficiency
• Senility
• Varicose veins

Contraindications:

• Amenorrhea (Ginkgolide B may prevent ovulation through its activity as a PAF antagonist and create anovulatory menstrual cycles)
• Menorrhagia
• Since ginkgo increases blood supply to the brain, caution is to be taken in high-risk stroke patients

Drug/Nutrient Interaction:

• Aspirin and ginkgo taken concurrently may produce spontaneous bleeding due to reduced platelet aggretion activity
• Potentiates papaverine penile injections for impotence

Chemical Constituents:

• Aglycones:
  
  Isorthamnetine
  Kaempferol
  Quercetin
• Carptempods:
  
  Lutein
  Zeaxanthin
• Heteroside flavonoids
• Organic acids
• Proanthocyanidins:
  
  Cyanidine
  Delphinidine
• Terpenes:
  
  Diterpene ginkgolides A, B and C (Ginkgolide B is a PAF antagonist)
  Sesquiterpene bilobalide

Toxicity:

• Contact with or ingestion of the fruit pulp has produced severe allergic reactions - the correct form of ginkgo is: Standardized extract (24% ginkgo heterosides): 40 mg. 3 times per day

Copyright 1998 - 2008 by L. Vicky Crouse, ND and James S. Reiley, ND. All rights reserved (ISSN 1527-0661).