Gingko biloba: bleeding disorders

[VINS]

i just find this when i was doing a search about another thing. is it of any interest ?(sorry if it is a stupidity or an old news)

Reports of prolonged prothrombin times, warfarin drug interactions, increased coagulation time, subcutaneous hematomas, intracranial hemorrhage associated with the use of gingko biloba were submitted to the CADRMP.

[Rev]

similar warnings about garlic an medications

I would be careful if on prescription drugs for teh heart and circulatory system

and if worried maybe avoid the extracts and just use the leaf traditional style

[theobromos]

And be aware of the symptoms of ginkgo toxicity. There are two types, the poison-ivy type caused by urushiol-type compounds and the excessive effects of the Ginkgo medicinals. I get nauseous headaches and dizziness if I take any ginkgo, but I suppose I am bright enough already.

[ 10. April 2004, 22:23: Message edited by: theobromos ]

[theobromos]

If you want my advice never use the leaf, always use extracts produced in laboratories that can test for the levels of the poison-ivy toxins.

The clean extracts will still cause problems for some people who are as sensitive to the prostaglandin effects as I am. All the side-effects mentioned above are results of the active medicinals not the poison-ivy toxins. But if you take the leaf you are possibly going to develop serious and lastingly-damaging immune reactions. Never believe that natural is best unless you have proof. Often nature is a bitch.

Sometimes science can improve on things.

[theobromos]

Actually, come to think of it I would never advise someone to try ginkgo leaf or leaf extract unless they had a severe and disabling disease that the herb might cure. Meddling with prostaglandins is a very bad idea. Would you take a large dose of aspirin every day for a small increase in brain activity?

Use bacopa or celastrus or any of a thousand others.

[Rev]

Interesting. good to be proved wrong

'i assumed that centuries of usage in the traditional style - leaf boiled with other herbs would be safer than take a 5X 10X etc concentrate of constituents

Dosage of leaf per day is supposedly 7g and in TCM ist mostly used for correcting heart disorders over many weeks not so much for the brain.

Also i wonder if the manufacture proicess matters. I read the leaves are preferred when they yellow and start to fall off. However i wonder if commercial operatores jsut take several leaf crops thouhout teh season and if this affects quality and constituents

[theobromos]

I am not aware of much use of the herb rather than the seeds in TCM. It was the Germans who started the Ginkgo boom last century.