Ginkgo Biloba Spiegazione

Ginkgo Biloba has been known as the oldest living species of trees with its roots as far as 270 million years in the world. Even the single living tree can be as old as 3000 years or so, one is reported in Shandong province in China. They can be as tall as 165 feet.

The Ginkgo Biloba tree has long angular branches, with strong deep rooted roots which make it stable in extreme snow and windy conditions. A combination of resistance to disease, insect-resistant wood and the ability to form aerial roots and sprouts makes ginkgos very long-lived.

The tree is not ever green, the leaves turn deep yellow during winters and fall considerably, in winters it is no more than bare branches but in spring and summers it is in full bloom and have the pollination as well. The leaves are fan shaped which have dichotomous venation.

The leaves are usually 5-10 cm (2-4 inches), but sometimes up to 15 cm (6 inches) long. The trees have separate sexes, male and female. They fertilize through pollination.

Though the birth rate is very slow, but their long living property has been able to make it survive through thick and thin. Their strength and resistance came in notice specifically in Hiroshima, Japan where four specimens of trees were found even after the drastic blast of an atom bomb.

Scientific name:

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Ginkgophyta
Class:	Ginkgoopsida
Order:	Ginkgoales
Family:	Ginkgoaceae
Genus:	Ginkgo

Dosage:

The general dosage in adults is 80 to 240 milligrams of a 50:1 standardized leaf extract taken daily by mouth in 2 to 3 divided doses has been used and studied (standardized to 24% to 25% ginkgo flavone glycosides and 6% terpine lactones).

Other forms used include tea (bags usually contain 30 milligrams of extract), 3 to 6 milliliters of 40 milligrams per milliliter extract daily in three divided doses, and "fortified" foods. Ginkgo seeds are potentially toxic and should be avoided. Like seeds the intra venous solution is also harmful. Tebonin is a german product of Ginkgo Biloba that was given intravenously and had severe side effects and hence has been banned.

Medical uses:

Though studies are still in progress and for many diseases there are no significant results. But still Ginkgo Biloba is acclaimed to have major uses in hair loss, dementia, weight loss, circulatory problems, acidosis, acute cerebral infarction, aging, alcoholism, allergies, Alzheimer's disease, angina, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, anti-rheumatic, anxiety, asthma, atherosclerosis, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autoimmune disorders and blood vessel disorders

Other uses include blood clots, breast disease, bronchial asthma, bronchitis, cancer, cardiac rhythm abnormalities, cataracts, chronic rhinitis, congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, cough, dermatitis, diabetes, neuropathy, retinopathy, indigestion, dysentery, eczema, fatigue, freckle-removing, genitourinary disorders, hearing loss, heart disease, heart attack, headache, hepatitis B, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hypoxia, insomnia, labor induction, menstrual pain, migraine, mood disturbances, oral cavity cancer, respiratory tract illnesses, scabies, schizophrenia, seizures, sepsis, skin sores, swelling, traumatic brain injury, ulcerative colitis, varicose veins and thrombosis and there can be more in the list with the passage of time.