Long-Term Study Shows Ginkgo Good for Memory

Long-Term Study Shows Ginkgo Good for Memory

NEW ORLEANS--A long-term study showed Ginkbo biloba improves memory,according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society forNeuroscience Nov. 8 to 12. According to UCLA, it is one of the first studies tomeasure the effects of ginkgo over a longer period of time (six months ascompared to the usual 12 weeks of other studies).

Ten subjects between the ages of 45 and 75 who had mild age-related memoryloss were supplemented with 120 mg of ginkgo or placebo twice daily for sixmonths. The ginkgo group reported improved verbal recall compared to the controlgroup; however, actual changes in brain metabolism, measured by PET, did notdiffer significantly between groups, according to the study, and led researchersto note that a larger sample size may be needed to effectively record and trackbrain metabolism results. Researchers noted further that this study and previousstudies have yielded conflicting results as to ginkgos effects on verbalmemory recall.