Since herbal supplements are not evaluated for interactions with other drugs, there are concerns about their interactions with conventional drugs, which are mostly used as multiple drug treatment approach. The present study aims to evaluate the effects of long-term use of Ginkgo biloba (GK) extract on the intestinal absorption of orally administered, single doses of fluoxetine and venlafaxine i...

One of the most remarkable things about the ancient tree, Ginkgo biloba L., is its resistance to pests and disease (1). Although some effort has been made in the past to find substances in parts of G. biloba L. which might account for this resistance, no success seems to have attended these efforts (2-4). A systematic examination of various parts of G. biloba L. has been undertaken in order to ...

The aim of the study was to perform a quantitative analysis of fluid extracts of maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba L.), motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca L.) and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna Jacq.), to evaluate their antioxidant activity and to compare their ability to inactivate free radicals. The antioxidant activity was measured using the DPPH*and the ABTS*+ radical scavenging reaction systems. The...

For many years now, a number of Western herbs have been widely used in health food products in Japan and as pharmaceuticals in Europe. There are few or no mandated criteria concerning the quality of these herbal health food products, thus clarification is warranted. Here, we performed disintegration tests of 26 pharmaceutical and health food products containing the Western herbs ginkgo leaf and...

Typhoon No. 13 in 2006 (Typhoon 0613) passed through Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan on Sep. 17, 2006. After being hit by it, many landscape trees, especially ginkgo in Yamaguchi City, showed symptoms of necrosis on the leaf tip and margin, and even the entire leaf. It clearly divided the crowns of some ginkgo trees into the green part and the non-green part. In order to quantitatively study this p...

Polyprenols separated from lipids are promising new components from Ginkgo biloba L. leaves (GBL). In this paper, ginkgo lipids were isolated by extraction with petroleum ether, saponification, and molecular distillation. Eight known compounds: isophytol (1), nerolidol (2), linalool (3), β-sitosterol acetate (4), β-sitosterol (5), stigmasterol (6), ergosterol (7), β-sitosterol-3-O-β-D-glucopyra...

The rising demand for ginkgo-containing products and their high economic value make them desirable targets adulteration, particularly by the partial substitution with other plant species. Styphnolobium japonicum (plant rich in flavonol glycosides) is known as a potential adulterant of ginkgo-based foods. Therefore, this work aimed at developing species-specific real-time polymerase chain reacti...

Effects of the leaf extract Ginkgo biloba, ginkgolides A and B, and the amino acid taurine (2-aminoethane sulfonic acid) on platelet aggregation was studied. All potential anitcoagulants were incubated in day one platelet-rich plasma and subjected to various agonist-induced clotting and tests and other measures of platelet viability. G. biloba extract and its respective ginkgolides had no effec...