Ginkgo Biloba by Stephan Brown

Author:Stephan Brown
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2000-04-12T04:00:00+00:00

Commercial Standardized Extracts

A standardized extract contains a measured amount of one or more of a plant’s constituents. Standardized extracts are sometimes favored over whole-herb preparations (like teas or tinctures) because they allow measurable doses of what is thought to be the active constituent of an herb. However, as many herbalists point out, it may not be the “active” constituent that gives a plant its healing power but rather the balance of consituents, active or inactive, working together. The jury is still out on this question. Some people view standardization as a beneficial technological refinement of herbal medicine, while others view it as a profit-motivated aberration that takes folk remedies away from people and puts them into the laboratory and the hands of corporations and governments.

The Schwabe company, through its prolific research, set the standard for standardized extracts of ginkgo biloba. The usual strength of a standardized ginkgo capsule or tablet — standardized to contain 24 percent flavonol glycosides, 6 percent terpene lactones, and 3 percent ginkgolides — is 40 milligrams per pill. The usual daily consumption is three pills, though some people double this amount when dealing with serious health challenges. This brings up the very old question of whether more is better. If the medicine in an extract is more concentrated, is it stronger medicine? In some cases, for some people, this may be so. On the other hand, homeopathy is very effective for some people, and its healing premise is that the more dilute the remedy, the stronger it is. You must pay close attention to your body when taking remedies so that you can determine your own correct dosage.

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