Ginkgo extract can be used to treat circulatory disorders - also used in the treatment of asthma and Alzheimer's disease

Ginkgo Extract Can Be Used to Treat Circulatory Disorders

Almost half of all prescription drugs sold in the United States contain substances of natural origin. From the cinchona bark, for example, we get quinine: from willow bark, aspirin; and from the rauwolfia plant, reserpine for tranquilizers.

Now scientists are talking about ginkgo extract, derived from the ancient ginkgo tree. Encouraging laboratory findings on ginkgo come as no surprise to the Chinese, who for 5,000 years have recommended an extract of the ginkgo leaf for ailments of the heart and lungs, and for coughs, asthma and acute allergic inflammations.

Chemists and botanists studying ginkgo believe that the first total laboratory synthesis of the compound ginkgolide B could eventually lead to its widespread use as a remedy for asthma, toxic shock syndrome, Alzheimer's disease and various circulatory disorders. The ginkgo compound also is being studied as a safer substitute for anti-rejection drugs now given to recipients of transplanted organs.

British researchers have reported positive results in tests of ginkgolide B to treat people with asthma and allergic inflammations. Animal studies suggest the substance might be effective in regulating blood pressure, treating kidney disorders and counteracting a number of toxins.

Ginkgo biloba, known as the maidenhair tree, is native to China. In addition to its medicinal properties, the ginkgo tree often is grown for shade and ornamental purposes.

Traditionally known as an anti-microbial and anti-tubercular agent, ginkgo has a profound effect on brain function and brain circulation, reported David L. Hoffmann, Member of the National Institute of Medical Herbalists in Your Herbal Home Medicine Chest. Hoffmann said ginkgo is a safe remedy that helps in peripheral circulatory problems of the arms, hands, legs and feet.

"Clinically it is effective in people with vascular disorders and in all types of dementia," he said. "Of special concern are people who are just beginning to experience deterioration in their [knowing and perceptive] function. Ginkgo extract delays further deterioration, enabling such people to maintain a normal life. It offers much for the treatment of short-term memory problems, and many of the problems of the elderly, including Alzheimer's disease."

Researchers Wolfgang Huber, Ph.D., and Parris M. Kidd, Ph.D., believe ginkgo has so many useful properties because of its main components, the bioflavonoids, plant compounds which aid in photosynthesis.

"The antioxidant effects of the extract are potent, and are attributable mainly to the flavonoids present in the extract," the researchers said. "The vascular [blood vessel] and enzyme-regulating effects of the flavonoids in ginkgo are reminiscent of those described for citrus-derived bioflavonoids (hesperidin, rutin and others) with one major difference: the efficacy doses reported for ginkgo are markedly lower. The flavonoid antioxidants would provide additional protection for the wall of the blood vessel against the effects of platelet discharge products."

Antioxidants are beneficial because they protect the membranes of the red blood cells, thereby preventing their destruction. In addition, antioxidants, which also include vitamins C, E, and A, betacarotene and selenium, destroy free-roaming oxygen molecules which can cause hardening of the arteries, cancer and most of the degenerative diseases.

Drs. Huber and Kidd concur with other researchers that ginkgo biloba dilates the blood vessels, allowing greater blood flow to the tissues. It also provides better drainage of waste products, especially through arteries that have been partially blocked because of atherosclerosis.

Ginkgo biloba inhibits the clumping of blood platelets, which contributes to heart and artery problems, and it discourages circulating platelets from sticking together at points of wear on the walls of aging blood vessels. It acts as an antioxidant against toxic substances.

In Effects of Ginkgo Biloba Extract on Organic Cerebral Impairment, P.F. Michel, a Paris researcher, discussed a double-blind study in which 50 patients with moderate senile dementia were given either ginkgo or a placebo. "Patients treated with ginkgo biloba extract show very significant improvement for sociability, vigilance and mood," Michel said.

In China, the fruit, seed and leaf are used in many medical applications, reported James A. Duke and Edward S. Ayensu in Medical Plants of China. The fruit pulp traditionally is used for pulmonary tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis, some sexually transmitted diseases and intestinal worms, they said. And Chinese herbalists recommend the raw seeds for cancer, bladder ailments and cardiovascular ailments.

Oriental herbalists used the ginkgo leaf for arterial circulation problems, constriction of the blood vessels in diabetics, gangrene, angina, intermittent claudication and Raynaud's disease (a constriction of blood vessels in the fingers, tip of the nose and toes).

Pierre Braquet, a researcher at the Institute Henri Beaufour in Paris, and a leading authority on ginkgo chemicals, recently established the most likely mechanism for the therapeutic action of ginkgolide B. Braquet said the substance appears to work by interfering with a single chemical in the body called platelet activating factor or P.A.F. This factor has been implicated in asthma, graft rejection and other immune disorders like toxic shock syndrome.

The therapeutic applications for ginkgo biloba seem to be endless. Your health food store carries ginkgo biloba capsules, liquids and other formulas.

REFERENCES

1. Wilford, John Noble. "Ancient Tree Yields Secrets of

Potent Healing Substance." The New York Times,

March 1, 1988. 2. Hoffmann, David L. Your Herbal Home Medicine

Chest. New Canaan, Conn.: Keats Publishing Inc.,

1989. 3. Michel, P.F. "Chronic Cerebral Insufficiency and

Ginkgo Biloba Extract," Effects of Ginkgo Biloba Extract

on Organic Cerebral Impairment, John Libbey

Eurotext Ltd., 1985. 4. Duke, James A. and Ayensu, Edward S. Medicinal

Plants of China. Algonac, Mich.: Reference Publications

Inc. 1985.

PHOTO : The leaves of the Ginkgo Biloba have a distinctive shape.

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