An ancient species of tree, ginkgo has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to address cognitive decline and breathing issues, as well as kidney and bladder problems. Today, in addition to these problems, people take ginkgo extract for anxiety, allergies, dementia, eye problems, artery health, and tinnitus.
Here are 10 things you should know about ginkgo before adding it to your supplement lineup.
It’s an ancient tree
Believed to be one of the oldest species of trees—about 200 million years old—ginkgo trees are native to China, Japan, and Korea, but are now cultivated in other parts of the world. Individual trees can live for as long as a thousand years. Their use in human history for medicinal purposes dates back as early as 2600 BCE.