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Ginkgo Offers No Mental Benefit, Study Says
Tue Aug 20, 4:03 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - If you think taking ginkgo will sharpen your memory, forget it, a study released on Tuesday said.
Ginkgo, the tree extract extolled as a memory booster, does nothing to improve memory or mental sharpness, psychologists from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, said.
"The results of this six-week study indicate that ginkgo, marketed over-the-counter as a memory enhancer, did not enhance performance on standard neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, naming and verbal fluency, or attention and concentration," the report published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ( news - web sites) said.
The 203 people who completed the study, which was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and two foundations, were all over age 60 and in good mental health. Half took the recommended dosage of 40 milligrams of ginkgo three times daily for at least four weeks, while the rest took a placebo.
The subjects were also rated by friends and relatives, who noticed no appreciable changes in their mental acuity, wrote study author Paul Solomon.
Supporters of herbal remedies countered that the latest study was just one among dozens, many of which have shown ginkgo can help sharpen the mind, especially in those suffering mild to moderate mental impairment.
"When taken by mentally impaired older adults, ginkgo produced significant improvements in short-term memory and combined scores on cognitive tests," Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, said in a telephone interview.
The latest study reflected a "lack of consensus" on ginkgo's usefulness, which McGuffin said has been shown to contain flavonoids and terpenes that likely improve blood circulation to the body and brain.
McGuffin faulted the research for not altering the dosage and the length of the study, adding there was a long history of antagonism between the medical establishment and believers in herbal remedies.
Some herbalists prefer to make their own herbal treatments from natural ingredients, he said, which might have a more pronounced effectiveness. Ginkgo is extracted from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, McGuffin said.
"This study should not be viewed as the definitive word on the subject, but simply one more addition to an extensive amount of scientific information, much of it positive, on ginkgo," John Cardellina of The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the dietary supplement industry, said in a statement responding to the study.
Tue Aug 20, 4:03 PM ET
CHICAGO (Reuters) - If you think taking ginkgo will sharpen your memory, forget it, a study released on Tuesday said.
Ginkgo, the tree extract extolled as a memory booster, does nothing to improve memory or mental sharpness, psychologists from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, said.
"The results of this six-week study indicate that ginkgo, marketed over-the-counter as a memory enhancer, did not enhance performance on standard neuropsychological tests of learning, memory, naming and verbal fluency, or attention and concentration," the report published in this week's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ( news - web sites) said.
The 203 people who completed the study, which was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging and two foundations, were all over age 60 and in good mental health. Half took the recommended dosage of 40 milligrams of ginkgo three times daily for at least four weeks, while the rest took a placebo.
The subjects were also rated by friends and relatives, who noticed no appreciable changes in their mental acuity, wrote study author Paul Solomon.
Supporters of herbal remedies countered that the latest study was just one among dozens, many of which have shown ginkgo can help sharpen the mind, especially in those suffering mild to moderate mental impairment.
"When taken by mentally impaired older adults, ginkgo produced significant improvements in short-term memory and combined scores on cognitive tests," Michael McGuffin, president of the American Herbal Products Association, said in a telephone interview.
The latest study reflected a "lack of consensus" on ginkgo's usefulness, which McGuffin said has been shown to contain flavonoids and terpenes that likely improve blood circulation to the body and brain.
McGuffin faulted the research for not altering the dosage and the length of the study, adding there was a long history of antagonism between the medical establishment and believers in herbal remedies.
Some herbalists prefer to make their own herbal treatments from natural ingredients, he said, which might have a more pronounced effectiveness. Ginkgo is extracted from the leaves of the ginkgo tree, McGuffin said.
"This study should not be viewed as the definitive word on the subject, but simply one more addition to an extensive amount of scientific information, much of it positive, on ginkgo," John Cardellina of The Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade association for the dietary supplement industry, said in a statement responding to the study.
