Ginkgo biloba is popular and provides many potential health benefits. What is it?
Many of today's most popular Western supplements, medicines and practices can trace their roots back to ancient Eastern medicine. These include practices aimed at tapping into a life force known as Qi (pronounced chee), which include acupuncture, massage therapy, tai chi, cupping, sound therapy and yoga.
Herbal medicine also has many of its roots in the East, including green tea, ginseng, ginger, goji berries and turmeric. Another of today's most popular herbal remedies and supplements is ginkgo biloba.
Here's what ginkgo biloba is, what benefits are associated with it and why it's not recommended to be taken by everyone.
What is ginkgo biloba?
Ginkgo biloba is a tree that's also known as the maidenhair tree—a botanical species that's grown in China for thousands of years. Because it's the only surviving member of an ancient plant family, maidenhair trees are often referred to as living fossils.
Though people throughout China and other East Asian countries sometimes consume ginkgo biloba seeds and leaves or use them in cooking, the form of the tree that most people consume in Western society comes from an extract of the tree's leaves — which is usually just referred to as ginkgo.
Ginkgo supplements are available in many forms, including pill, powder and liquid tinctures. "Dried ginkgo leaves can also be used to make tea," explains Dr. Uma Naidoo, director of nutritional and lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist behind "Calm Your Mind with Food."
What are the benefits of ginkgo biloba?
Ginkgo extract and supplement are associated with many studied health benefits, Naidoo explains, such as helping slow the progression of age-related diseases, improving blood flow in those with coronary artery disease and reducing symptoms related to depression.
Such benefits are most commonly associated with ginkgo's high concentration of a type of antioxidant known as flavonoids — which are known to neutralize damage related to free radicals. "This is why ginkgo can help protect your heart and blood vessels from oxidative damage," says Josh Redd, a Johns Hopkins-trained doctor of naturopathic medicine and the author of "The Truth About Low Thyroid." This benefit can be especially useful for those with peripheral artery disease and hypertension, "but the improved circulation benefits can also be helpful to other people," he says.
Ginkgo also has properties that can help fight inflammation throughout the body, "which is crucial to combat as we age," Redd says. He adds that there is also compelling research showing that ginkgo "has genuine promise for cognitive health," including a 20-year population study demonstrating that consistent ginkgo use may slow cognitive decline over time.
Is taking ginkgo biloba safe?
At the same time, some research on ginkgo is mixed and some of the data that shows promising benefits come from small studies or related to markers tracked in animal cells. Because of this, Naidoo says that larger-scale human studies are needed to more fully understand ginkgo's potential benefits.
What's more, ginkgo isn't for everyone. "Ginkgo has the potential to interact with medications like blood thinners, antidepressants and NSAIDS," says Naidoo. "While ginkgo's anticoagulant properties can help improve circulation, if you take blood-thinning medication medications, its blood-thinning effect can be dangerous," echoes Redd.
Even in individuals not taking such medications, Naidoo says some people experience side effects when taking high levels of ginkgo or when taking it over extended periods of time. Such side effects can include digestive issues, headache, allergic skin reactions and dizziness.
It's also important to note that supplements are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the way food and drugs are. "There are so many garbage supplements on the market, so quality matters tremendously," says Redd. "I recommend you avoid cheap mass-market supplement s... and to instead look for practitioner-brand nutraceuticals that undergo third-party testing for purity and quality."
For those concerned with taking ginkgo supplements, echoes Naidoo, "trying the tea variety of ginkgo may be the better way to start adding it to your diet."