Effects of Ginkgo biloba on dementia: an overview of systematic reviews
Abstract
Objective To assess the cumulative evidence on the efficacy and effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE) in the treatment of dementia.Design Overview of systematic reviews.Methods PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched in June 2016. Systematic reviews (SRs) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating the effects of GbE on different outcomes in people with dementia or cognitive impairment were included. Methodological quality of the included SRs was assessed using the AMSTAR tool. The quality of evidence of the primary studies was assessed using GRADE.Results Twelve SRs with meta-analyses met the eligibility criteria. The quality of the evidence reported in these SRs varies ranging from low to moderate level. Overall, the available evidence suggests that GbE has potentially beneficial effects over placebo on cognitive performance, activities of daily living, and clinical global impression in the treatment of dementia at doses greater than 200mg/day (usually 240mg/day) administrated for 22 weeks or longer, and that GbE appears to be safe for human consumption. No sufficient evidence supports the favorable effects of GbE administrated for less than 22 weeks. The available evidence consistently indicates that a dose less than 200mg/day of GbE may not be adequate to yield clinical relevant effects in the treatment of dementia.Conclusions GbE has potentially beneficial effects for people with dementia when it is administered at doses greater than 200mg/day for at least 5 months. Given the lower quality of the evidence, further rigorously-designed, multicenter-based, large-scale RCTs are warranted.
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Clinical trials of Ginkgo biloba extracts on dementia have inconsistent findings due to heterogeneity in dosages, duration, and sample characteristics.
“The effects of G. biloba extracts on dementia have been assessed by several controlled clinical trials, but, the findings are inconsistent due to heterogeneity in the dosages and duration of the interventions, and the sample characteristics across different trials (Yuan et al., 2017).”
From Multi-target neuroprotective effects of herbal medicines for Alzheimer's disease (2022) · cites this paper as Yuan et al., 2017
Ginkgo biloba leaf extract has become one of the most widely used herbal remedies for dementia.
“The extract from G. biloba leaves has become one of the most widely used herbal remedies for dementia (Yuan et al., 2017).”
From Multi-target neuroprotective effects of herbal medicines for Alzheimer's disease (2022) · cites this paper as Yuan et al., 2017
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- Authors
- Yuan, Q., Wang, C.-W., Shi, J., & Lin, Z.-X.
- Affiliations
- Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-01
- Volume
- 195
- Pages
- 1-9
- ISSN
- 0378-8741 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2560263933
- Cited by
- 148
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 7 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 3.18
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Ethnopharmacology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Ginkgo biloba and Cashew Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Complementary and alternative medicine › Medicinal Plants and Neuroprotection
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
- Keywords
- Ginkgo biloba extract, dementia, cognitive impairment, cognitive performance, activities of daily living, clinical global impression, dose-response relationship, treatment duration, drug safety, herbal medicine
- MeSH terms
- Ginkgo Extract, Activities of Daily Living, Cognition, Dementia, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Humans, Phytotherapy, Plant Extracts, Plants, Medicinal, Risk Factors, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic, Treatment Outcome, Nootropic Agents, Ginkgo biloba, Patient Safety
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