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29 Feb 2008
A Chinese herbal supplement taken by thousands of people to reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases could have no effect on improving memory at all, a study claims.
Research into ginkgo biloba extract by scientists at Oregon Health & Science University focused on 118 people aged 85 and older with no memory problems.
Half of the patients took ginkgo biloba extract three times per day while the other half took a placebo - a dummy pill.
During the three-year study, 21 people developed memory problems, including seven people who took the ginkgo extract - but it was still unclear what effect the extract has on minimising cognitive decline.
Scientists did however find that people who took the supplement reliably and followed the instructions the best, were 68 per cent less likely to develop memory problems.
Researchers were keen to point out that this relationship could have been a chance occurrence.
"The findings are interesting because ginkgo biloba is already widely used, readily available, and relatively inexpensive," study author Dr Hiroko Dodge said.
"One of the most pressing public health problems facing our society is the rapidly growing number of people who, due to their age alone, are at high risk of developing dementia. The potential to delay or prevent this is of great importance."
Further studies into the effect of gingko biloba on preventing cognitive decline should be carried out, he added.
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