Mental ability is not affected by Ginkgo Biloba

A newly published study has shown that those adult that made use of the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba did not show any signs of better mental ability when compared to those adult that received placebo.

Although Ginkgo biloba has been widely marketed as the solution for overcoming and improving all cognitive impairment, usually associated with old age, this recently conducted study has proved otherwise. For a long time, Ginkgo biloba was thought to help in the prevention and ultimately cure various mental impulses associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer disease. Says Beth E. Snitz, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh, "Especially in Europe and America, G biloba was much sought after as a herbal treatment so as to effectuate a termination in the loss of any mental ability on account of age." However, many recent clinical trials that have been conducted have not brought about the required evidence to show the positive effects of G biloba on the brain.

Along with her team of colleagues, Dr. Snitz, scrutinized the observations of the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study to verify whether there was any slowdown of cognitive decline in older adults that were suffering from any form of cognitive impairment. In all, it was determined that there was no slowdown through the use of G biloba. There was also no conclusive evidence of it being capable of reducing the effect of Alzheimer disease in patients. All participants in the study were between the ages of 72-96 years and received daily doses of around 120-mg extract of G biloba. Within a span of eight years, the study was conducted in over six different medical centers all across the United States. Different measurement instruments and other tests were used to assess the change in the cognition.

In this study, none of the researchers found that there was any evidence of G biloba having any effect on the slowing down of cognitive decline. Irrespective of the age, race, sex or even the education of the individual, there was no evidence of any positive visible effect on specific cognitive memory domains, executive functions, visuospatial abilities, attention and language.

"In effect, our study and findings have shown that there has been no conclusive evidence to prove that it is possible to slow down the rate of cognitive decline via G biloba. Previously conducted smaller findings had also shown no conclusive linking between the consumption of G Biloba and cognitive performance,” says Dr. Snitz.