Elsabagh, Sarah Mona.; (2004) Effects of Ginkgo biloba and other nutraceuticals on cognition and mood. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D.), University College London.

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Abstract

With the growing interest in the use of nutraceuticals for their putative cognitive enhancing effects, there is the need for the thorough examination of their profile of effects using well-defined populations. This thesis explores the effects on attention, memory, executive functions and mood of (1) Ginkgo biloba; (2) Gincosan (a preparation containing Ginkgo biloba and Panax ginseng) and (3) soya isoflavones. The first two studies were conducted in young adults (males and females), and the remaining studies explored the potential benefits in postmenopausal women - a population in which impaired cognition is a frequent complaint. In student volunteers, an acute dose of ginkgo improved performance in tests of attention and episodic memory, however, these effects did not persist after a chronic treatment period of six weeks. Similarly, in postmenopausal women one week's treatment with ginkgo improved attention, short-term episodic memory and mental flexibility, whereas the only lasting improvement after six weeks' treatment was in mental flexibility, which was limited to the older group of women. This suggests that tolerance may develop to the effects of ginkgo after chronic periods of treatment. There were no beneficial effects of Gincosan after six or twelve weeks of treatment in postmenopausal women. A final aim of the thesis was to determine whether six weeks was a time-point at which beneficial effects of another herbal supplement could be detected, and thus the effects of six weeks treatment with soya supplements was investigated in postmenopausal women. Improvements were found in short-term memory and the executive functions of mental flexibility and planning. In summary, this thesis has demonstrated that ginkgo has cognitive benefits in both young adults and postmenopausal women, but only after acute/short-term treatment, whereas soya was associated with the greatest range of benefits after chronic treatment in postmenopausal women.

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