Ginkgo Biloba may help in memory protection

Ginkgo Biloba, a herbal supplement, might be helpful in protecting the memory loss as it can be used to delay the onset of cognitive impairment in elder people.

A study was conducted on almost 118 people of age 85 or above older with no memory problems. For three years, 50% of the participants took Ginkgo Biloba extract three times a day and the other half took a placebo.

It was observed that 21 people developed mild memory problems. Of these 21, 14 were the ones who took the placebo and 7 took the ginkgo extract.

Although the trend is slightly inclined towards ginkgo, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant. This is also the reason that some people are not sure whether it can be really helpful in preventing memory loss efficiently.

"These results need to be clarified with larger studies, but the findings are interesting because Ginkgo Biloba is already widely used, readily available, and relatively inexpensive," said the study author Hiroko Dodge, PhD, of the Department of Public Health and Center for Healthy Aging Research at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

"One of the most pressing public health problems facing our society is the rapidly growing number of people who, due to their age alone, are at high risk of developing dementia. The potential to delay or prevent this is of great importance. Further studies are needed to determine whether Gingko Biloba has any benefits in preventing cognitive decline and whether it is safe."

The researchers have also noted an increase of strokes and "mini-strokes" in ginkgo users. The reasons for this are unclear and require confirmation in other studies. In this study, seven people taking ginkgo had strokes, while none of those taking placebo did.

Ginkgo has previously been linked to bleeding-related complications. But the researchers have clarified that the strokes in this case were due to blood clots and not because of excessive bleeding. It was also observed that the strokes were generally not severe.

If more researches are carried out to see the effectiveness of Ginkgo, it might prove to be an asset especially to the elderly people who suffer from the problem of memory loss.

This study was published in the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.