Ginkgo Brochure- Supports Brain Function Provides Antioxidant Protection

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• Promotes Cerebral Blood Flow

• Helps in the Regulation of Platelet Activating Factor (PAF)

• Provides Significant General Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Protection

• Supports Cardiovascular and General Circulatory Health

• Influences the Uptake of Glucose and the Utilization of Oxygen by the Brain and Nerve Tissues

A Traditional Antidote to Aging

An ancient Chinese emperor thought the effects of aging could be slowed. He offered a cart of gold to anyone who could prolong his life -- and the satisfied ruler paid as promised! Sadly, the name of his elixir of longevity is not revealed by the imperial records. Moreover, the known anti-aging remedies of the ancients often are so expensive that only an emperor could afford them –– assuming that they work. Fortunately, one such ancient elixir, ginkgo biloba, not only has been rediscovered, it has received considerable support from modern scientific research. Jarrow FORMULAS® Ginkgo Biloba 50:1 extract is one modern version of this ancient elixir.

Also called the “maidenhair tree,” the ginkgo tree possesses fanshaped leaves and bears a foul-smelling inedible fruit; even the seeds are edible only after roasting. Extracts are made from the leaves, although Oriental medicine also employs the seeds. The ginkgo tree today is a common ornamental planting world wide due to its ability to withstand pollutants and harsh conditions. It is the oldest known species of tree (more than 200 million years old).

In the Pen Tsao Ching (The Classic of Herbs) attributed to the legendary Chinese emperor/sage Shen Nung, ginkgo is said to be “good for the heart [meaning also the sharpness of mind, which is dependent upon the heart according to Chinese medicine] and lungs.” In India the Ayurvedic healing tradition associates ginkgo with long life. Modern Western research supports these beliefs from two ancient healing traditions and has led to ginkgo biloba extract becoming one of the most widely used of all herbal products. The extract often is recommended for improving memory and reaction time, for improving circulation, and for protecting against free radical damage. Ginkgo biloba also is suggested in traditional practices for improving the physiologic effects of other herbs and nutrients.

A Natural Way to Promote Good Circulation

According to traditional Chinese medicine, ginkgo has properties that are sweet, bitter, astringent and neutral. The herb influences the body through the lung and kidney meridians and has several traditional uses, although these uses differ with respect to whether the leaves or the seeds are used. Among the long-standing Asian uses of the leaves are these:

• Aging • Poor circulation • Memory loss • Mental confusion

Chemical analysis reveals that several important biologically active compounds are present in the ginkgo biloba leaves, among which the following have been identified and closely studied:

• Ginkgo flavone glycosides or ginkgo heterosides (which are flavonoid molecules unique to ginkgo and to which sugars are attached)

• Several terpene lactone molecules unique to ginkgo (ginkgolides and bilobalide), the most important of which are ginkgolide B and ginkgolide A.

• Organic acids

Favored in Europe to Promote Brain Circulation

Very few compounds can boast the ability to influence so many markers of aging as can extracts of the leaves of ginkgo biloba. As a result, ginkgo extracts are among the most popular of all herbal products in Europe and account for 1 to 1.5% of all such sales in France and Germany.

Ginkgo’s benefits for the brain are perhaps the best known of its properties. Several different mechanisms likely are involved in these benefits. Much of the decline in our cognitive abilities as we age can be traced to a decrease in blood flow to the brain. In medical language, this decrease in blood flow is called “cerebral vascular insufficiency.” Ginkgo extracts markedly improve the circulation to the brain as a whole and especially within certain areas of the brain. However, they do more than just increase circulation.

These extracts enhance both the uptake of glucose and the utilization of oxygen by the brain and other nerve tissues, and thus increase the amount of energy available for mental functioning. Experiments even have shown that the rate of signal transmission by brain nerve cells is improved with ginkgo extracts and that the synthesis of some of the neurochemicals used to transmit nerve signals, such as acetylcholine, is increased. Just as importantly, ginkgo powerfully protects the brain against the ravages of free radicals, being quite active against the damaging substances known as peroxides. Ginkgo also may improve the production of glutathione, one of the body’s own powerful antioxidant enzymes. The protective effects of ginkgo have been demonstrated in laboratory trials in which blood flow to the brain has been cut off, a situation similar to stroke. The “payoff” for those taking ginkgo extracts is better brain functioning.

Protecting Against Platelet- Activating Factor (PAF)

Heart protection is another area in which ginkgo biloba extracts excel. These extracts are powerful antioxidants and free radical scavengers, and therefore they protect against damage to the fats which are found in the blood, the brain and all cell membranes. In possibly related actions, ginkgo extracts improve the blood flow through the artery which serves the heart, improve circulation more generally throughout the body and increase the clearance of toxins from the system.

More especially, ginkgo protects the body against what is known as platelet-activating factor (PAF). PAF was only discovered in 1972, and since that time scientists have come to realize that it is involved in disturbances ranging from internal blood clots (often leading to heart attacks and strokes) to allergic reactions to asthma to declining brain function. As this suggests, PAF has wideranging effects within the body. By inhibiting PAF, ginkgo influences platelet function, inhibits excessive aggregation and adhesion, and helps to control degranulation (release of allergic and inflammatory components).

Proven Mechanisms of Action and Benefits

• More than 50 double blind clinical trials have demonstrated ginkgo’s efficacy in improving blood flow to the brain and to peripheral areas of the body.

• The ways in which ginkgo biloba extract affects the vascular system are well documented; it appears to influence all parts of the system (arterial, arteriolar, microcirculatory, venular and venous components).

• Ginkgo increases the tone of the venous system; this action helps clear toxic metabolites which accumulate in times of insufficient oxygen supply.

• Ginkgo acts on the lining of blood vessels (the vascular endothelium) to enhance the release of relaxing factors.

• The extract helps stabilize cell membranes and promotes the scavenging of free radicals in the brain and nerve cells. Brain tissues have a high percentage of unsaturated fatty acids, which make them susceptible to free radical damage. Ginkgo’s antioxidant protection is therefore important to the brain and other nervous tissues, and complements the extract’s actions of improving blood flow and oxygen utilization.

The many reported benefits of ginkgo biloba extract are dependent upon the quality of the constituents. Extracts should contain both flavonoid glycosides (minimum 24%) and terpenes consisting of ginkgolides and bilobalides (minimum 6%). Any product which does not contain both the flavonoids and, especially, the terpenes is unlikely to be effective.

Usage and Safety

Take 1 to 2 capsules per day or as directed by your qualified health consultant. Side effects with ginkgo extracts are very rare. Benefits usually do not appear in less than 2 weeks and can take as long as 12 weeks to become noticeable. Those being treated with blood thinners or with drugs such as trazodone should consult with their medical practitioners before using ginkgo biloba extract.

References

Michael Castleman. The Healing Herbs (Rodale Press, 1991).
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biloba Specialextraktes auf doe befomdlickeit bei zerebraler
Onsufficizienz. Muench Med Wochenschr 1991;133 (Suppl.
1): S15-S18.
Ernst E. Pentoxifylline for intermittent claudication. A critical
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Ody, Penelope. The Complete Medicinal Herbal. (Doerling
Kindersley, 1993) 64.
Molony, David. The American Association of Oriental
Medicine’s Complete Guide to Chinese Herbal Medicine.
(Berkeley, 1998) 124.
Hsu, Hong-Yen et.al. Oriental Materia Medica: A Concise
Guide. (Keats,1986) 610-611.
White HL, Scates PW, Cooper BR. Extracts of Ginkgo biloba
leaves inhibit monoamine oxidase. Life Sci 1996;58(16):1315-21
Oyama Y, Chikahisa L, Ueha T, Kanemaru K, and Noda K.
Ginkgo biloba extract protects brain neurons against oxidative
stress-induced by hydrogen peroxide. Brain Res 1996 Mar
18;712(2):349-52.
Seif-El-Nasr M, El-Fattah AA. Lipid peroxide, phospholipids,
glutathione levels and superoxide dismutase activity in
rat brain after ischaemia: effect of ginkgo biloba extract.
Pharmacol Res 1995 Nov; 32(5):273-8.
Smith PF, Maclennan K, Darlington CL. The neuroprotective
properties of the Ginkgo biloba leaf: a review of the
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Ethnopharmacol 1996 Mar; 50(3):131-9.

Source: Jarrow Formulas