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How can ginkgo improve walking?

  • Admin
  • Dec 14, 2022
  • 2 min read

Updated: Aug 11, 2024


ginkgo

What is GINKGO?

Identification name: Ginkgo biloba L.

Family: Ginkgoaceae

Habitat: native to East Asia

Medicinal part: leaf

Key chemical constituents: it contains aminoacids, flavonoids, proanthocyanidins. Specifically,quercetin is antibacterial, antioxidant, antineoplastic, anti-inflammatory; kaempferol is antibacterial and antioxidant; luteolin is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, free radical scavenger, immunomodulator, antineoplastic, nephroprotective; ginkgetin is antineoplastic; amentoflavone is antiviral; ginkgolides A, B, C.

Properties and uses: ginkgo is antioxidant, tissue perfusion enhancer, circulatory stimulant, nootropic, neuroprotective, anxiolytic, adaptogen. It can be used in cognitive deficiency, intermittent claudication, vertigo and tinnitus of vascular origin.

Curiosity: this plant has a high resistance to drought, cold (-34°degrees) and air pollution. Other reported uses are asthma, hearing loss, altitude sickness. Traditionally, the nut and seed were also used.

Caution: ginkgo is well-tolerated when used at the recommended dosage and not for more than 6 consecutive months. Some patients may experience gastrointestinal symptoms, migraine, nausea, bruising, subarachnoid haemorrhages. Caution when used with anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs as it can potentiate their effects, causing bleeding.

Andrew is 64 years old. He has type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic stable angina, dyslipidemia, and he likes smoking.


He is feeling pain in his right upper thigh while walking around the block. The pain has become intolerable, but if he stops walking, it feels better within minutes.


He comes to a pharmacy to look for an herbal remedy that could improve his circulation to make him walk better. He is considering taking GINKGO, which is one of the few plants with double-blind, placebo-controlled trials that support its use.


A meta-analysis of eight trials showed a 47% improvement. It involved 385 patients taking ginkgo standardized extract 160 milligrams per day for 6 months. They reported a pain-free walking distance of 34 meters.

References

Barnes, Joanne, et al. Herbal Medicines. 3rd ed., Pharmaceutical Press, 2007.

Bone, Kerry, and Simon Mills. Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy: Modern Herbal Medicine. 2nd ed., 2013.

Braun, Lesley, and Marc Cohen. Herbs & Natural Supplements: An Evidence-Based Guide. Vol. 2. 4th ed., Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2015.

Campanini, Enrica. Dizionario di fitoterapia e piante medicinali. Tecniche nuove, 2012.

Chemistry from PubChem.

De Smet, Peter A. G. M., et al. Adverse Effects of Herbal Drugs. Vol. 3, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 1997.

Koda-Kimble, Mary Anne. Applied Therapeutics: The Clinical Use of Drugs. 9th ed., Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.



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