Ginkgo Biloba Leaf

Ginkgo biloba tree has been around for a good number of years. For 250 million years, as a matter of fact. This is rightly referred to as a living fossil. Because it has survived that long people are turning to ginkgo biloba in the hope of uncovering the secrets of well-being and longevity. They look for it particularly in the ginkgo biloba leaf.

The ginkgo biloba leaf has been the subject of intense scrutiny and interest among herbalists and scientists alike for many years. The term ‘biloba’ which roughly translates to "two-lobed" refers to the fan-shaped leaf blades which appear to be split-in-the-middle. A ginkgo biloba leaf is smooth and tough. Ginkgo biloba leaf usually grows to about four inches long and changes from green to yellow when Autumn comes. A ginkgo biloba tress has seeds which be sweet and edible. But it is in the ginkgo biloba leaf that healing extracts can be found.

Ginkgo products are acetone. That means they are extracted from dried ginkgo biloba leaf. To produce this health-giving extracts from ginkgo biloba leaf, the leaves are harvested in the fall as they began to turn green to yellow. After harvest, ginkgo biloba leaves are dried in temperature-controlled warehouses. The dry ginkgo biloba leaf is then separated from twigs, branches, stalks and other foreign matters. Then they are pressed into bales, maintained in constant temperature and humidity and shipped off to extraction plant.

Extracting from a ginkgo biloba leaf differs in different cultures. Some are regarded as secrets of the trade. But basically, a ginkgo biloba leaf is pulverized and mixed with organic solvents to release the chemical composition of the ginkgo biloba leaf. This process is repeated several times to make sure that the extraction are pure. This is done until the flavonoids make up 24% precisely of the concentration of the mixture. This is to ensure that they get the optimum therapeutic effect of a ginkgo biloba leaf.

Two classes of chemicals that are beneficial are specifically found in a ginkgo biloba leaf. These are: flavenoids and terpenoids. Flavenoids are further composed of ginkgoflavone glycoside. Terpenoids are made up of ginkgolides and bilobalide. Flavenoids found in a ginkgo biloba leaf are believed to capable of reducing capillary fragility and have potent antioxidant. Terpenoids can inhibit platelet activating factor (PAF).

Ginkgo biloba leaf extracts are proven to be effective in curing various ailments that specifically affect the vascular and central nervous systems. Just as it was able to withstand the harsh and changeable environmental conditions through time, the unassuming Ginkgo biloba leaf could hold the secrets to man’s endurance.