3 replies to this topic

[Tree93]

Is this combination safe? I hear that ginkgo and turmeric can thin the blood, and caffeine increases blood pressure, so Is this asking for trouble? This is my first post here but I've ben lurking for a few weeks now, and anxiety has driven me to post of course.

[timar]

If you eat 1 lb of turmeric and wash down 10 capsules of ginkgo extract with two pots of coffee the answer is: no, it isn't safe.

However, if you take reasonable doses of each there is no reason to be concerned. Oh, and by the way, don't fall for the recent hysteria that gingko may cause cancer. Yes, indeed, if you feed rodents the human equivalent dose of fifty grams of an unstandardized ginkgo extract of unknown Chinese origin they develop cancer. This is a trivial finding though, because ginkgo contains high levels of quercetin, a known carcinogen, yet one with a U-shaped dose-response curve. At low doses it protects against cancer, at very high doses it may promote cancer. A standard dose of ginkgo (120 - 240 mg, 20% quercetin) will likely have a cancer-protective effect. A more sane dose of a high quality extract actually significantly increased the median as well as the maximum life span of laboratory rats while protecting them against cognitive decline.

Edited by timar, 11 December 2013 - 09:06 PM.

[Tree93]

Thanks for the reply. I never heard about the carcinogenic potential, but it's good to hear that it might actually be anti-carcinogenic! I'm using raw organic ginkgo
leaf. Does anyone know the typical flavonoid content for the leaf?

[timar]

Oh, good that you mention it. Don't use raw ginkgo leaves! They may contain high levels of ginkgolic acid, which is a toxine that can cause many severe side effects. Only use high quality ginkgo extracts similar to EGb 761 which are standardized to contain >= 24% of flavone glycosides, >= 6% ginkgolides and bilobalides and less than 5 ppm ginkgolic acid. In Germany this upper limit of ginkgolic acid is actually required by law.

Edited by timar, 11 December 2013 - 09:58 PM.