Ginkgo biloba extract is effective in improving episodic memory of patients with mild cognitive impairment

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a transitional stage between normal aging and dementia. It is important in terms of recognizing memory loss in older people as well as identifying a group of individuals at high risk of developing dementia and who may benefit from preventive strategies. Research study by Zhao et al 2012 has demonstrated that Ginkgo bilboa can be an effective treatment of MCI.

A total of 120 ‘Mild Cognitive Impairment’ patients were randomly assigned to the Ginkgo biloba leaf tablet group (treatment group, 60 cases) and control group (60 cases). The patients in the treatment group took Ginkgo biloba leaf tablets 3 times a day, 19.2 mg each dose. The control group did not receive any intelligence-promoting or vasodilator reflex treatment except some health care. After 6 months of treatment, the scores of the logical memory test and nonsense picture recognition were increased significantly in the treatment group. The efficacy rate of logical memory was 58.62% in the treatment group, also higher than 38.18% in the control group (P<0.05).