Message #46505

[mccoy]

From the treatise 'Nutraceuticals', Elsevier 2016 - (But in this field research updates at least every year....)

Common commercial formulations of G. biloba include
capsule or tablet forms. Standardization of the leaf
extracts can vary significantly in quality and quantity, but
it is important that they are standardized on the basis of
the active ingredients. The United States Pharmacopeia
(USP) 32 and the European Pharmacopoeia 6.1 also published
monographs for G. biloba extract and formulations,
providing standards for herbal preparations. The USP 32
has monographs for Ginkgo, powdered Ginkgo extract,
and Ginkgo capsules and tablets, and the European
Pharmacopeia 6.1 has a monograph for G. biloba extract.
Both of the pharmacopeias list the standardized dry
extracts that are produced with acetone 60% and a drug/
extract ratio of 35:37:1, such as EGb 761 and Li 1370,
both of which have a defined composition. Variations
in the levels of the active ingredients are likely due to
the multistep extraction and concentration process used
(Heinonen and Wilhelm, 2015). These authors also stated
that G. biloba is used to treat cognitive impairment in
various types of dementia, peripheral arterial diseases,
ischemic stroke, tinnitus, macular degeneration, and
autism, and to moderate the undesirable effects of some
cancer therapies. EGb 761 has been shown to have antistress
effects, which supports its use in preventing or
impeding the development of psychiatric disorders in
which stress is a pathogenic factor (Montes et al., 2015).
In Gurley et al. (2012) the therapeutic uses were listed as
being used for insufficient blood flow, memory deficits,
cognitive disorders, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), depression,
vertigo, tinnitus, and intermittent claudication.
Dugoua et al. (2006) states additional uses that include
memory enhancement, asthma, varicose veins, mountain
sickness, idiopathic cyclic edema, sexual dysfunction
secondary to the use of selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors, and connective tissue disorders. They also
stated that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended
G. biloba for Raynaud’s disease. The WHO
has also accepted the standardized extracts such as EGb
761 and Li 1370 as antidementia drugs based on the
pharmacological studies done in vitro and in vivo and the
numerous clinical studies supporting the efficacy of EGb
761 in the central nervous system (CNS) when taking a
240-mg daily dose. Chan et al. (2007) described current
uses in medical applications, including improving brain
function, strengthening the cerebrovascular and cardiovascular
systems by the inhibition of platelet aggregation
and the increase of blood flow and oxygen supply,
neutralizing free radicals, stabilizing cellular energy production,
and suppressing hemorrhoids, inflammation,
migraines, allergies, and asthma.