Subject: Info on Ginkgo Preparation HERE

From: [email-masked] (B. Jaycox)
Date: 19 Jul 1995 22:48:31 GMT

I gratefully received this from someone at AOL who requested I share it.

Here it is.
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Subject: GINKGO

Hi B,
     Here is some info. I have on ginkgo, please share this.
HARVESTING THE LEAVES
     Best time to harvest leaves for high flavonoid content is in the fall,
after they begin to turn color.  Flavonoids, which may be the most active
anti-oxidants in ginkgo and exhibit a vessel-toning effect, reach their
highest levels in the leaves at this time.
     However, the most important active constituents in ginkgo leaves (the
ginkgolides and bilobalide) reach their highest levels around Aug. or Sept.,
in late summer or early fall, before the leaves start to turn color.  If you
are interested in getting max. levels of these constituents, you should
harvest the leaves when they are a dark, rich green, because these
constituents drop the their lowest levels after the leaves have turned yellow
and begin to fall off the tree.
     Considering all of the above, the optimum time for harvesting ginkgo
leaves may be harvested just about the time they begin to turn color, or a
little before in Sept.
     After picking the leaves, shade-dry them on a screen, allowing good air
circulation from the bottom and the top.  Best condition is one that will dry
the leaves quickly (in 2 to 3 days) but not overheat them.  Never dry leaves
in the sun.  To test that the leaves are thoroughly dried, "snap" a leaf stem
to make sure.  When the leaves are dried, put them in a paper bag inside a
plastic bag, and store them in a cool, dark place----in a tinted glass jar is
best.
     Tea is a traditional way to take ginkgo and when used over a longer
period of time (up to 9 mos), it may provide good benefits, especialy as a
preventative supplement to the diet.  A tea of the leaves can be a good way
of taking ginkgo because most of the important active compounds in the live
plant are water-soluble.  Because of changes in the levels of active
constituents during the growing season and variations in levels of these
compounds between different populations of ginkgo, the use of the leaves is
best as long-term therapy, mostly a prevention.  One drawback of the tea, it
has a bitter, astringent and slightly sour flavor----this formula is quite
palatable:
Brain and Circulation Tea
ginkgo  1 part
lavender 1/2 part
wood betony  1 part
lemon balm  1 part
stevia herb  1/8 to 14 part
     Adjust the amount of stevia according to how sweet you want your tea.
 Stevia is VERY Sweet, you might start on the low side.
     SAFETY AND TOXICITY
     Ginkgo leaves and cooked nuts have a safe history of use that goes back
several thousand yrs.  When using a preparation of the whole leaves or seeds,
you can safely assume that within a normal dose range there will be no
dangerof negative side effects.  
    In one study involving 2,855 patients who took ginkgo extract, about 3.7%
experienced minor gastric upset which had no lasting effects when the ginkgo
was discontinued.  Another test with 8,505 patients who took ginkgo for 6 mos
revealed that only 0.4% (33 people) experienced minor side effects, most
commonly mild stomach upset.  It is noteworthy that tests show that even high
doses of ginkgo extract do not change the hormonal balance in men, and that
neither does ginkgo affect the sugar metabolism of the body----which means it
is safe for diabetics, who often suffer from poor circulation and therefore
might benefit from ginkgo treatment.  Finally, no disturbances in the
formation of new blood cells or the functioning of the liver and kidneys were
observed, even after longterm use.
     Highly purified extract (24%) is so concentrated, it has a stronger
activity per amount of extract than the ginkgo preparations used for
thousands of yrs. in Chinese medicine.  Not only has the internal balance
changed in the purified extract, but so has the potential toxicity, both
short-term and long-term.  Fortunately, Schwabe has done an enormous amount
to testing which demonstrates that the purified and concentrated extract is
safe.  Thousands of people have taken high doses of the extract and have been
rigorously examined for any undesirable bodily changes.
     THE FRUITS
     Ginkgo fruits have been the object of much bad press----due to their
potentially foul odor, which smells something like rancid butter.  Aside from
its unaesthetic odor, the pulp of ginkgo can actually be irritating to the
skin and cause rashes in some people, for it contains similar irritating
chemical substances to those found in poison oak and ivy.  Many cases of
contact dermatitis have been reported from handling the fruit when its skin
is cut or broken, though rashes have not been reported from contact with the
leaves or any other part of the tree.  In China, traditional processing
methods are used to remove the pulp cleanly from the nuts.
     For a complete book about Ginkgo, write to:
Botanica Press
Box 742
Capitola, CA. 95010     The book is called GINKGO Elixir of Youth--by
Christopher Hobbs and is $5.95
  Hope this helps....Penny.