Ginkgo: uses.

Newsgroups: alt.folklore.herbs
Subject: Re: GINKO: Are edible
From: Elizabeth_Toews.mindlink.bc.ca (Elizabeth Toews)
Date: Thu, 20 Oct 94 13:00:28 -0800

weigand.stimpy.eecis.udel.edu (Steven Weigand) writes:
> hdittman.uoguelph.ca (Hannelore Dittmann) writes:
> >Seeds are used to relieve hangovers, and leaves are for coughs and asthma.
> I thought it was the nuts that were for coughs and asthma, not the leaves? I know the leaves make an extract, Ginko Biloba, which is used to help in alzheimer's patients and certain other problems (mostly with the brain). Am I right/wrong/both?

According to the information that I have available, Ginkgo bears a foul-smelling, nonedible fruit and an ivory-colored inner seed that resembles an almond. The seed is edible and is sold in marketplaces in the Orient. The seed or nuts are expectorant, antitussive, antiasthmatic, sedative, and mildly astringent. The leaf extract seems to have vasoactive properties especially improving circulation to the brain. Hope this info is helpful.

Elizabeth Toews

From: mpcb.netcom.com (Michael P.C. Bannan)

The FEMALE Ginko produces the fruit, and the male does not. Yes, the trees come in male and female genders. When we bought our tree, we were warned not to buy the female because of the foul-smelling fruit. Having said that, does anyone know if the leaves of both genders are equally useful?

-Mike

Subject: Re: GINKO: Infprmation
From: weigand.stimpy.eecis.udel.edu (Steven Weigand)

shal.loc.gov (Stephanie A. Hall) writes:
>Ray Jones (rjones.titan.ucs.umass.edu) wrote:
>: Does anyone have information about the Ginko tree. Are the leaves edible?
>I don't know about the leaves. The nuts found inside of the fruit are edible (this comes as a surprise to people who only know of the fruit as a smelly mess on the sidewalk). I don't know of any herbal application though -- salted, the nuts they make a good snack and are popular in asia.

The nuts, I have heard, are used in Chinese Medicine as a general respiratory illness picker-upper. Supposed to help the lung and lung processes.

I've heard that the asians tend not to use the leaves for anything, but Western medicine has found it useful in retarding alzheimers disease. (It improves memory -- I think it has to do with improving circulation of blood to the brain.)

Ciao for now,
-Steve Weigand