Evidence: Very High Possible Benefits: Very High Safety: Reasonable
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is Ginkgo biloba?
Ginkgo biloba is an adaptogenic herb with a long history of use as a traditional medicine. This herb is often used as a supplement for improving brain health and slowing down cognitive decline but it can also have a variety of other beneficial effects. This article is about the main benefits of Ginkgo biloba, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.
Possible benefits
All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogenic herbs, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Slower cognitive decline – A high dose of 240-360 mg 50:1 ginkgo leaf extract appears very effective for slowing down cognitive decline in older people.
Improved memory – Ginkgo biloba can reliably improve short-term memory and free recall in people above 55 years old. This benefit may not apply to younger individuals.
Minor benefits
Calming effect – Ginkgo can reduce cortisol levels and induce calmness and relaxation.
Reduced symptoms of intermittent claudication – Intermittent claudication is pain affecting the calf, and less commonly the thigh and buttock, that is induced by exercise. Ginkgo biloba can reduce or prevent this pain. This benefit is highly variable and depends on the individual. Some people experience a significant reduction in intermittent claudication while some experience no benefit.
Reduced symptoms of AMS – Ginkgo can potently but unreliably reduce the symptoms of acute mountain sickness when taken at doses of 240 mg 1-5 days prior to a trip up a mountain. Just like with the reduction in symptoms of intermittent claudication, this benefit is very notable in some people while none at all for others.
Reduced symptoms of dementia – This herb can reduce some symptoms of dementia, such as anxiety and impaired facial recognition.
Improved ocular blood flow – This benefit applies not only to people with normal tension glaucoma but also to healthy individuals. Ginkgo needs to be taken for at least two days to notice the benefit.
Antioxidant properties – Ginkgo can reduce general oxidation.
Improved well-being – An improvement was observed in people with cerebral injury but not in otherwise healthy young people.
Increased nitric oxide – This herb can increase nitric oxide production by as much as 40% in people with poor blood flow.
Reduced symptoms of Alzheimer’s – This herb can significantly reduce cognitive impairment related to Alzheimer’s disease.
Improved processing speed and accuracy – Supplementation can acutely reduce reaction time and increase processing speed and accuracy.
Reduced oxidation of LDL cholesterol – The reduction can be as high as 22.5% in people with high LDL cholesterol levels.
Reduced risk of peripheral vascular disease – A significant risk reduction is seen in older people taking the supplement.
Deeper sleep – The herb seems to increase sleep efficiency without affecting REM sleep.
Reduced symptoms of PMS – Ginkgo biloba can reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome by up to 23.68%.
Reduced symptoms of Schizophrenia – Ginkgo is especially effective in this regard as an add-on to standard antipsychotic therapy.
Reduced symptoms of vitiligo – Ginkgo can induce skin repigmentation in people with vitiligo but the benefit is relatively small.
Reduced apolipoprotein A – The reduction is about 23.4+/-7.9% in high-risk individuals.
Lowered anxiety – Long-term supplementation can be helpful for people with a general anxiety disorder(GAD).
Reduced risk of atherosclerosis – Ginkgo biloba can reduce atherosclerotic buildup in people predisposed to atherosclerosis.
Reduced CRP – A small decrease in C-reactive protein was found in one study.
Possible side effects
The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Increased risk of breast cancer – A slightly increased risk was noted in people taking Ginkgo daily for multiple years (6.1 years on average).
Worse numerical memory – One study found an impairment of numerical memory compared to the placebo.
Initial adverse reaction – When you start taking Ginkgo biloba, things can get worse before they get better. This herb can temporarily worsen some aspects of your health and even make you sick for a few days after you start taking it. This can be unpleasant but it is usually a sign that the supplement is working and creating a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.
Allergic reaction – Some people are allergic to this herb and may experience an allergic reaction after they start taking it. Unlike the “initial adverse reaction,” allergic reactions typically don’t go away until one stops taking the herb.
Nausea – This side effect is most common when people take the herb on an empty stomach.
Diarrhea – You can usually prevent diarrhea or stomach discomfort by taking this herb with a meal.
Toxicity – As an adaptogen, Ginkgo biloba acts as a mild stressor on the body. That is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, stressing the body too much can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking very high amounts of this herb could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. To prevent chronic toxicity or the buildup of tolerance, staying below 6 grams of a dry herb or 50 mg of glycosides a day is best unless you have a great reason to take more.
Contamination – If growing or storing conditions are not adequately controlled, Ginkgo biloba can be contaminated with bacteria, molds, and other potentially harmful microorganisms. Some growers also use pesticides and herbicides that can be unsafe. Another issue is that herbal supplements can get contaminated with other supplements and chemicals during the manufacturing process. Choose the brand you get herbs and herbal supplements from wisely. It is often best to use websites like Amazon, where thousands of users have reviewed and rated the products. You are less likely to buy something of lower quality there.
Who should not take Ginkgo biloba?
You should probably avoid taking Ginkgo biloba if you:
are allergic to this herb
are predisposed to breast cancer
experience a severe adverse reaction after taking the herb (though a mild adverse reaction is usually a great thing as it is a sign that the supplement is working and causing a hormetic response that allows the body to adapt and become more resilient)
suffer from premenstrual syndrome
are pregnant or breastfeeding (while it can be safe to take this adaptogen during pregnancy or breastfeeding, it acts as a mild stressor and can cause some unnecessary risk to the child)
suffer from an autoimmune disease (adaptogenic herbs can stimulate the immune system, which can worsen symptoms of autoimmune diseases, such as lupus or multiple sclerosis)
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the supplement if you:
are an older person experiencing cognitive decline
suffer from Dementia, Schizophrenia, or other types of neurodegenerative diseases
wish to optimize brain health cognition
have poor blood flow
have unhealthy levels of LDL cholesterol or apolipoprotein A
have a high budget for supplements and are willing to experiment with a variety of them (Ginkgo biloba appears safe and is unlikely to do more harm than good for most people)
How much Ginkgo biloba should you take?
Because Ginkgo biloba is an adaptogenic herb, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient to certain kinds of stressors in the long term.
A higher dose does not necessarily lead to more pronounced benefits. Instead, there appears to be an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern. In other words, you want to find a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get the benefits of Ginkgo biloba without putting too much stress on the body or quickly causing the body to develop tolerance to the herb.
The sweet-spot dose typically ranges anywhere between 2-6 grams of dry herb daily. If you buy an x:1 extract, divide the dry herb dosage by x. If you buy an extract standardized for flavone glycosides, the sweet spot dose for glycosides is about 12-48 mg.
The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take this herb for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since you would develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.
While higher doses are generally safe, taking more than the sweet-spot dose daily would be counter-productive as your body would quickly develop tolerance.
Additionally, very high doses can put too much stress on your system and cause health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.
While this herb could theoretically cause acute toxicity, you would need to take an extremely high dose that is way beyond what is generally found in even the most potent supplements.
Like with most other adaptogens, it is best to cycle Ginkgo biloba and take about 2 days off weekly to reset your tolerance. This will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Keep in mind that the effects of this herb are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least a week to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the herb and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.
Best time to take Ginkgo biloba
Since glycosides and other main bioactive compounds in Ginkgo biloba are fat-soluble, you should take this herb with food to absorb it well.
However, if it is more convenient for you to take Ginkgo biloba without food or if you’re taking a stack like Qualia Mind that includes Ginkgo but should be taken on an empty stomach, it is certainly not an issue.
This herb is generally better taken in the morning or 1-4 hours before a cognitively-demanding task. However, you can experiment with a variety of different times of the day to find what suits you best. This herb should not negatively impact sleep quality in any way when taken before bed. In fact, it may even increase sleep quality.
Interactions
Phosphatidylserine These two supplements act synergistically for improving memory.
Rhodiola Rosea This combination can lead to improvements in psychomotor vigilance task (PVT) and low to moderate working memory accuracy.
Ginger This combination can support mood and well-being.
Panax ginseng This combination seems to benefit recall time and the vividness of memories.
Codonopsis pilosula One study that used 75 mg of Codonopsis in combination with 40 mg of ginkgo biloba found greater improvements in memory acquisition and retention than when people took ginkgo biloba alone. This suggests that Codonopsis increases the effects of ginkgo on memory since Codonopsis alone doesn’t directly impact memory much if at all.
Where to buy Ginkgo biloba?
Amazon is the best option for ordering Ginkgo biloba and other herbs and herbal supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.
Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.
FAQ
As with most other herbs and herbal supplements, it is best to cycle Ginkgo biloba and stay off of it for about 2 days per week to reset your tolerance back to baseline. This will keep your body sensitive to the herb and allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
When you take an extract standardized for glycosides, you know exactly how potent it is and how much you need to take to get the desired outcome. Herbal extracts also tend to be cheaper than unextracted powders in many cases. However, many of the potentially beneficial compounds get lost during the extraction process. Therefore, if you know how potent the unextracted powder is, it is almost always a better option.
All of these options are fine. The two most important things to consider are the price and dosing. Powders are almost always the cheapest form. However, you may need a highly accurate scale to dose them correctly (preferably 0.001g). You can get one for as little as $20 from Amazon. Dosing the powders also takes some time that can add up over months or years. The disadvantage of capsules is that they are often made of bovine gelatine, which rarely comes from ethical sources.
Yes. This herb is generally better taken in the morning or 1-4 hours before a cognitively-demanding task. However, you can experiment with a variety of different times of the day to find what suits you best. This herb should not negatively impact sleep quality in any way when taken before bed. In fact, it may even increase sleep quality.
This herb should not become harmful once it exceeds the expiration date but it can lose potency over time. Keep the herb or the herbal supplement in a cold, dark, and dry place, and it should remain just as potent for many months or even years.
As an adaptogen, Ginkgo biloba acts as a mild stressor on the body. This is usually a great thing as it allows your body to adapt to specific forms of stress and become more resilient. However, putting too much stress on the body can be counter-productive and cause multiple side effects, including toxicity. While acute toxicity is extremely rare, taking very high amounts of this herb could lead to chronic toxicity and cause health problems over time. Very high doses can also make you develop tolerance much faster than lower doses so they may be less effective in the long term.
While you could safely take higher doses, there is usually no point in taking more than 6 grams of a dry herb or 50 mg of glycosides daily. This amount should give you most of the benefits without meaningful side effects. Paradoxically, taking a higher dose would likely lead to fewer benefits as the body would quickly become accustomed to the herb.
The half-life of Ginkgo biloba in the body is anywhere from 3-6 hours. This herb should be processed in your body within a day of consuming it.
The effects of this herb are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least a week to notice most of the benefits. But again, cycling the herb and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.
Yes, Ginkgo biloba is vegan-friendly. If you buy this herb in a capsulated form, beware that the capsules often contain animal-based gelatin. Instead, find a brand that puts its products into cellulose capsules.
No, it doesn’t. The herb does not interfere with fasting in any significant way.
References
Most of the information in this guide is based on scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything you read in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
