Ginkgo or maidenhair tree – Ginkgo biloba
In Asia, the miracle tree has long been used as a secret weapon to strengthen the heart and lungs. The active ingredients in ginkgo leaves improve blood flow and are therefore also a natural pick-me-up for the brain: thanks to its circulation-boosting properties, ginkgo activates even the rearmost brain cells via the smallest capillaries.
Activates the brain
Fields of application
Ginkgo extract protects nerve cells and nerve tissue, acts as a radical scavenger with an antioxidant effect and prevents the blood platelets from sticking together. This makes ginkgo extract suitable for alleviating forgetfulness, poor concentration and memory, all forms of dementia and those complaints associated with reduced blood flow. These include tinnitus, intermittent claudication, neck stiffness, altitude sickness and dizziness. Ginkgo preparations should be taken early and for many years, not just when dementia is becoming manifest. The pharmaceutically important active ingredients flavone glycosides and terpene lactones are found in the seeds, leaves and bark. Producing ginkgo extract is a complex and costly undertaking.
Botanical characteristics
The ginkgo tree, also known as the Japanese temple tree, silver apricot, maidenhair tree, duckfoot tree or fan tree, is unique, not only because of its healing powers. It is also a botanical anomaly: like a deciduous tree, it sheds its leaves in autumn, but because of the type of seed it has been classified as a conifer. Ginkgo is referred to as a living fossil because the plant has existed for over 200 million years and has hardly changed since then.