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The Benefits of Ginko for your Health

Alzheimer's Disease and Parkinson's Disease--Why They Happen What research shows may be the answer

Ginkgo Biloba one part of it?

In the 1481 research reports we scanned recently, a common pattern of causality of both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease were revealed. It appears to be the chemical activity of an enzyme called cholinesterase.

But how to reduce or eliminate cholinesterase? Further examination of the findings revealed several substances which may be helpful. One of them is Ginkgo Biloba.

Please note that we do not diagnose or prescribe, as physicians do. We merely report on medical-scientific findings from respected medical journals.

Following is a condensation of a report sent to us by Dr. Koji Nakanishi of the Department of Chemistry, Columbia U., New York City.*

"The tree Ginkgo biloba was mentioned in the Chinese Materia Medica 5000 years ago...Fossil records show that the Ginkgo [family] was present some 180 million years ago.

"The Ginkgo takes its name from the [word] ginkyo in Japanese and yinhsing in Chinese; both words translate to 'silver apricot' referring to the appearance of the Ginkgo nuts.

"Although recent research has focused on the medicinal value of the leaves, almost nothing is known in terms of the molecular...basis of the mode of action of the Ginkgo biloba extract. The extracts were reported to behave as an anti-asthmatic, scavenge radicals, reduce cerebral insufficiency, alleviate the symptoms of mild to moderate Alzheimer-type dementia, and improve short-term memory in healthy subjects...

"While numerous investigations have attempted to determine the effects of the individual constituents of Ginkgo biloba extracts on the central nervous system, this aspect is still not well understood...

"Among numerous effects displayed by the extract EGb 761 in the central nervous system, those related to Alzheimer's Disease, dementia and memory are of particular importance. Alzheimer's Disease represents the most common form of dementia among those over 65 years of age and is now the third most expensive health care problem in the US, exceeded only by cancer and cardiovascular disease...

"In two pivotal studies, a total of 549 Alzheimer's Disease patients were evaluated for the effect of EGb 761. In both studies, the extract significantly slowed the loss of cognitive [awareness] symptoms of dementia, and regression on certain data points was delayed 7.8 months. An indirect comparison with similar date for the currently available Alzheimer's Disease treatments, Aricept [t.m.] (9.5 months) and Exelon [t.m.] 5.5 months, both acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, placed EGb 761 between these two drugs.

"Aside from the above-mentioned clinical trials, many clinical studies have been performed with extracts of G. biloba, and virtually all trials report positive results regarding various aspects of cerebral insufficiency. interestingly, Beaufour Ipsen (France) and Yuyu Industrial Co. (Korea) are developing EGb 761 in advanced clinical trials for treatment of mild cognitive impairment and neurodegenerative diseases [of which are included Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.]...

"Ginkgolides [extracts of Ginkgo] have long been promoted as memory-enhancing natural products, and the work from this and other laboratories has provided some evidence that this is obviously the case..."

NOTE: Two things. One, the majority of the over 1400 reports we observed, pointed to the action of the harmful enzyme cholinesterase as the culprit in both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease although the above study focused on Alzheimer's.

Two, it should be noted that an earlier report in The Lancet found an exceedingly wide gap between the actual content of Ginkgo extracts and the package-stated contents as sold in health food and drug stores in England. The same could be assumed to be the case in the U.S.

We use therefore, two different brands containing 60 mg. each per day as a PART of our total intake of cholinesterase inhibitors. More info coming soon.

This report was substantially abbreviated.

*This report appeared in full in Bioorganic & Molecular Chemistry, vol. 13, 2005.