11 Carmen Perez.indd

address correspondence to: Carmen M. Pérez, MHSN, LND, RD, Universidad del Turabo, School of Health Sciences, PO Box 3030 Gurabo, Puerto Rico, 00778-3030. Tel: (787) 743-7979 ext 4062 • Fax: (787) 704-2703 • Email: [email protected] Herbal remedies have been widely used in many countries for centuries, and the products enjoyed a surge in popularity in the USa during the late '90s. During the past 20 years, an estimated 2 billion daily doses (120 mg) of Ginkgo biloba (GB) have been sold. French and German agencies consider it to be effective for the treatment of several diseases, and the immense amount of clinical studies concerning GB makes it worth revising the existing literature about this notable plant. also, the national Institutes of Health (nIH) supports research on alternative therapies that include examining the effects of GB. With the rapid expansion of herbal medicine use in the United States, it is clear that our understanding of herb-herb, drug-herb and food-herb interactions should increase.