More Than a Memory Aid

Long-valued for its ability to increase circulation and help promote memory, ginkgo biloba has recently shown promise in reducing the risk of ovarian cancer and may potentially become an effective treatment for the disease. A recent study of more than 1,200 women—600 with ovarian cancer and 640 without—at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, showed women who had taken ginkgo supplements for six months or more had a 60 percent lower risk of ovarian cancer.

The herb lowered the risk of “nonmuncious”—a specific type of ovarian cancer—by 65 to 70 percent. In lab tests the researchers also found that ginkgolide A and B—terpene compounds that are active components of ginkgo—caused cancer cells to stop growing, and blocked cells from replicating in this type of ovarian cancer.

—Barbara Hey

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