origin

The ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) is probably the oldest plant species in the world and has been on earth for around 200 million years. It originally comes from China, where the oldest ginkgo tree, which is over 5,000 years old, is also found. Today, the ginkgo tree is cultivated worldwide. As the last survivor of the plant genus "Ginkgaceae", the ginkgo biloba is neither a deciduous nor a coniferous tree and is therefore an absolute phenomenon in botany.

The Ginkgo biloba even has Goethe inspired to dedicate a poem to him:

"Ginkgo Biloba
This tree leaf, which from the east
Entrusted to my garden,
Gives secret meaning to taste,
How it edifies those who know.
Is it a living being.
That separated itself?
Are there two who choose each other,
That they are known as one?
To answer such questions
I think I found the right meaning.
Don’t you feel in my songs,
That I am one and double?"

Its name comes from Japanese and is composed of the words "Gin" (silver) and "Kyo" (apricot) "Biloba" stands for the two-part, fan-like leaf shape of the plant. The tree reaches a height of up to 30 meters and in autumn it produces green-yellow fruits about 3 cm in size.

Due to its longevity and resilience, the Ginkgo biloba has always aroused the interest of naturopathy and is also called a "living fossil" by botanists, having already outlived the dinosaurs. Its resistance to heat, cold, viruses, bacteria, fungi and environmental stress is impressive. It survived the ice ages in Japan and China and is still cultivated in Japan. "Tree of Hope" called: It was a Ginkgo biloba that survived charred only a few hundred meters from the impact site of the Hiroshima bomb and is said to have even bloomed again the following spring.

The German doctor Engelbert Kämpfer had the opportunity to get to know the Ginkgo biloba as a medicinal plant during his two-year stay in Japan and first reported on it in Europe in 1712. He gave the Japanese name "Gin-Kyo" as "Ginkgo" again – this spelling has remained to this day. The doctor and botanist Dr. Wilhelm Schwabe finally introduced the active ingredients of Ginkgo biloba into modern medicine.

In naturopathy, the seeds and extracts from the leaves are used.

Areas of application and mode of action

Ginkgo biloba is one of the most scientifically studied medicinal plants. Its leaves contain the following active ingredients: flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol), biflavonoids (gingetin, amentoflavone), 0.02-0.2% diterpene lactones, which mainly consist of ginkgolides A, B and C, 0.02-0.06% sesquiterpenes (including bilobalide) and proanthocyanidins.

Unlike the other active ingredients mentioned, ginkgolides are not found in any other fruit. Elias James Corey, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, was the one who succeeded Ginkgolides B to synthesize ginseng, a naturally occurring active ingredient in the ginkgo tree that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for 5,000 years. treatment of asthma and circulatory problems serves.

In Chinese folk medicine, the use of Ginkgo biloba was described over 5000 years ago – among other thingsat intestinal diseases, cough, asthma, high blood pressure and against worm infestation.

In TCM, ginkgo leaves are used for four main purposes: to move the blood, reduce water retention (edema), tonify the “heart qi” and to encourage the spirit. Both the seeds and the roots of the ginkgo biloba are used. The latter are used primarily for Menstrual problems, the former e.g. with flatulence, asthma, cough, tuberculosis, cystitis or pain when urinating.

A positive influence of ginkgo leaf extract on the metabolism and blood circulation in the brain has now also been scientifically proven; for example, the EU HMPC monograph on the use of Ginkgo biloba in dementia states:

"The exact mechanism is unknown. Human pharmacology data show increased EEG alertness in geriatric subjects, a reduction in blood viscosity and improved cerebral perfusion in specific areas in healthy men (60-70 years), and a reduction in platelet aggregation. In addition, vasodilatory effects on forearm blood vessels are shown, causing increased regional blood flow." https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/herbal-monograph/final-european-union-herbal-monograph-ginkgo-biloba-l-folium_en.pdf

The German Pharmacist Newspaper states: Effect of Ginkgo biloba extract as follows:
"[this] has been extensively tested (in vitro and in animal experiments) and has shown a variety of, in some cases, very different effects."

Here are some of the effects on whose interaction the overall effect of the extract is based:

• improves microcirculation and reduces blood viscosity
• inhibits platelet aggregation and erythrocyte adhesion
• inactivates oxygen radicals
• improves glucose and oxygen uptake
• protects against toxic and oxidative stress and against beta-amyloid fractions (neuroprotection)
• increased concentration and memory according to a study
• Proven effectiveness in Alzheimer's symptoms

In the final report of the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care on the topic "Ginkgo-containing preparations for Alzheimer's dementia" from 2008 states:

"For the therapeutic goal of “activities of daily living”, the exclusive consideration of studies that used a dosage of 240 mg showed evidence of a benefit of Ginkgo biloba. For the therapeutic goal of “accompanying psychopathology”, there is only evidence of a benefit of Ginkgo biloba for general psychopathology. There is no clear evidence, but only a tendency for a positive influence of Ginkgo biloba on depression symptoms. For the therapeutic goal of “cognition" The studies provide evidence of benefits from Ginkgo biloba." www.iqwig.de/download/A05-19B_Abschlussbericht_Ginkgohaltige_Praeparate_bei_Alzheimer_Demenz.pdf

Legal Consumer Information

German and European law aims to protect consumers from allegedly misleading claims about effectiveness. The statements made here refer to the original Ayurvedic and TCM texts. This knowledge, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is based on experience passed down from generation to generation. It is not intended to claim that the products described here have an effect in the sense of Western medicine. All products are food supplements; they are not medications and have no medical effect. If you are ill and require medical care, please contact your doctor or pharmacist.