2008 Woodie Awards
Gingko Biloba and Its Profound Scientific Potential
David Rosenthal
Issue date: 3/29/05 Section: Science & Technology
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In 1691 the German physician, Engelbert Kaempfer, discovered the Ginkgo in Japan. The Ginkgos had survived in China mainly in monasteries in the mountains, in palaces and temple gardens, where Buddhist monks cultivated the tree from about 1100 AD for its many good qualities. From there it spread to Japan and Korea.
The Ginkgo tree is the only living representative of the order Ginkgoales, a group of gymnosperms composed of the family Ginkgoaceae consisting of about 18 members with its earliest leaf fossils dating back to 270 million years ago in the Permian period. Fossil leaves and vegetative organs show that at that time there were at least two such species.
Due to geological cataclysms, only one species was left (Ginkgo adiantoides). Extinction of the dinosaurs and large reptiles as important seed dispersers of the large seeds may also have influenced this decline, which is in line with the fossil records.
About 7 million years ago, the Ginkgo disappeared from the fossil record of North America. It was lost to Europe 5 million years later. There are possibly two extinct genera: Ginkgoites and Baiera.
Kaempfer brought ginkgo seeds to Europe from Japan in the early 1700's and to the United States later that century. Most of the early trees raised in Europe appear to have been males. The first recorded female tree was found near Geneva in 1814 of which scions were grafted on a male tree in the Botanic garden of Montpellier where the first perfect seed was grown. Currently, the tree grows in many countries all over the world as an ornamental tree.
The seeds are mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the leaves are used in western medicine. In 1911, Dr. C.A. Stuart and Dr. F. Porter Smith translated and researched this herbal remedy and used it as a working base for their publication of 'Chinese Medicinal Herbs'. In their work they wrote: "The seeds are supposed to benefit asthma, coughs, irritability of the bladder... and uterine fluxes. Eaten raw they destroy cancer and are counter-vinous. Cooked they are said to be peptic and are used by the Japanese to promote digestion. In some cases they appear to cause peculiar symptoms of intoxication."
In the late 1950s Western medicine began to study its amino uses. Dr. Willmar Schwabe Company produced the first extract from the leaves in 1965. Dr. Elias J. Corey of Harvard University received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1990 for, among other achievements, the total synthesis of Ginkgolide B in 1988. Today, Ginkgo is used in Europe, in the U.S., as well as in other countries for its medicinal qualities.
Gingko is being used to treat a wide variety of ailments from senility, asthma, allergies, tinnitus, to Fibromyalgia, an extreme fatigue disorder. It is also used as an antioxidant, to improves circulation, brain functions and memory. The seeds are also said to possibly contain anti-cancer properties, both being sedative and astringent.
The Ginkgo tree is the only living representative of the order Ginkgoales, a group of gymnosperms composed of the family Ginkgoaceae consisting of about 18 members with its earliest leaf fossils dating back to 270 million years ago in the Permian period. Fossil leaves and vegetative organs show that at that time there were at least two such species.
Due to geological cataclysms, only one species was left (Ginkgo adiantoides). Extinction of the dinosaurs and large reptiles as important seed dispersers of the large seeds may also have influenced this decline, which is in line with the fossil records.
About 7 million years ago, the Ginkgo disappeared from the fossil record of North America. It was lost to Europe 5 million years later. There are possibly two extinct genera: Ginkgoites and Baiera.
Kaempfer brought ginkgo seeds to Europe from Japan in the early 1700's and to the United States later that century. Most of the early trees raised in Europe appear to have been males. The first recorded female tree was found near Geneva in 1814 of which scions were grafted on a male tree in the Botanic garden of Montpellier where the first perfect seed was grown. Currently, the tree grows in many countries all over the world as an ornamental tree.
The seeds are mostly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and the leaves are used in western medicine. In 1911, Dr. C.A. Stuart and Dr. F. Porter Smith translated and researched this herbal remedy and used it as a working base for their publication of 'Chinese Medicinal Herbs'. In their work they wrote: "The seeds are supposed to benefit asthma, coughs, irritability of the bladder... and uterine fluxes. Eaten raw they destroy cancer and are counter-vinous. Cooked they are said to be peptic and are used by the Japanese to promote digestion. In some cases they appear to cause peculiar symptoms of intoxication."
In the late 1950s Western medicine began to study its amino uses. Dr. Willmar Schwabe Company produced the first extract from the leaves in 1965. Dr. Elias J. Corey of Harvard University received the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1990 for, among other achievements, the total synthesis of Ginkgolide B in 1988. Today, Ginkgo is used in Europe, in the U.S., as well as in other countries for its medicinal qualities.
Gingko is being used to treat a wide variety of ailments from senility, asthma, allergies, tinnitus, to Fibromyalgia, an extreme fatigue disorder. It is also used as an antioxidant, to improves circulation, brain functions and memory. The seeds are also said to possibly contain anti-cancer properties, both being sedative and astringent.