Ginkgo has been used in Chinese medicine for more than 5,000 years to help older people overcome memory lapses by improving the circulation of blood, particularly to brain cells. However, a new clinical study has shown that the top selling herbal supplement doesn’t slow age-related mental decline.
An extract derived from the ginkgo tree, ginkgo biloba has been touted since the 1970s by the supplement industry and others as an aid to improving memory, cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
A research team from the University of Pittsburgh studied data in an eight-year randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial called the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory (GEM) study, for which half of the 3,069 participants were given daily doses of ginkgo biloba and the other half were given a placebo.
“Measuring the effect of ginkgo in a big trial in older people, we didn’t see any effect of the drug on slowing down or delaying normal age-related changes of cognition,” said lead researcher Dr. Steven T. DeKosky, vice president and dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine in Charlottesville.
The results of the study show that Ginkgo biloba. had no effect on subtle changes associated with early symptoms of dementia or normal ageing, the researchers said. The researchers noted that the study was limited because the first several years of treatment were not captured by detailed cognitive evaluations. It is also limited in its generalizability because of a lack of ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
This study is anything BUT conclusive. Over 33% of the study subjects who DROPPED OUT OF THE STUDY were INCLUDED in the study results. There are more than 11 other studies (1,2,3,4) that show that Ginkgo Biloba has proven useful for enhancing short term memory and cognitive function. It obviously works for a LOT of people!!! READ ALL THE STUDIES PEOPLE!!! Don’t just accept the bogus information from this one.
1. QWiG Reports – Commission No. A05-19B. Ginkgo in Alzheimer’s disease. Executive Summary. Cologne: IQWiG, 2008.
2. Kaschel R. Ginkgo biloba: specificity of neuropsychological improvement – a selective review in search of differential effects. Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental 2009;24:345-370.
3. Kasper S, Schubert H. [Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761(R) in the treatment of dementia: evidence of efficacy and tolerability.] Fortschritte Neurologie Psychiatrie 2009;77:494-506.
4. Crews W, Harrison DW, Griggin ML, Falwell KD, Crist T, Longest L, Hehemann L, Rey ST. The neuropsychological efficacy of ginkgo preparations in healthy and cognitively intact adults; A comprehensive review. HerbalGram 2005;67:42-62.