CombinedNSP Site Admin
Joined: 13 Dec 2006 Posts: 1406 Location: Cleveland, OH
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Posted: Dec Fri 15, 2006 7:46 pm Post subject: Ginkgo Biloba |
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Ginkgo Biloba
Medicinal Use: Antiasthmatic, bronchodilator and platelet activating factor (PAF)* antagonist. It is also used to improve the circulation. A vaso-dilator(causes relaxation of blood vessels).
Meridians/Organs affected: lung, kidney
The 24 to 1 extract of the leaf is now a popular herbal product for a wide variety of vascular problems, especially increasing vascular circulation to the brain for the treatment of dementia and possibly Alzheimer's disease.
Ginkgo is the best selling herbal medicine in France and Germany, where it is taken daily by millions of people from middle age onwards to maintain and improve cerebral circulation and the memory and to reduce the possibility of a stroke.
*PAF is a substance, released by a range of blood cells, that causes the blood to become stickier and therefore more likely to produce blood clots.
Cautions:
Ginkgo is slightly toxic and should not be taken in large doses for a long period of time. Toxic symptoms include headache, fever, tremors, irritability and skin rash (dermatitis). Michael Tierra states that Licorice is an acceptable antidote for Ginkgo.
Text Sources:
Planetary Herbology, by Michael Tierra, C.A., N.D.
Potter's New Cyclopaedia of Botanical Drugs & Preparations, by R. C. Wren, revised
The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants, by Andrew Chevallier, MNIMH
The Little Herb Encylcopedia, by Jack Ritchason, N.D.
-Glenda Hadley |
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