A report in the Journal of Natural Products investigates a link between ginkgo biloba and epileptic seizures.
Among many active ingredients, ginkgo biloba contains ginkgotoxin. This is concentrated in the seeds in lethal amounts.
Ginkgotoxin is also present in the leaves. Report authors Eckhard Leistner and Christel Drewke noted massive variations in the strength of active products in ginkgo biloba teas, although they did not specifically test for ginkgotoxin.
They did look at how ginkgotoxin works in humans. They found it prevents uptake of vitamin B6 by the brain, appears to interfere with 2 neurotransmitters known to trigger epileptic convulsions, and also may prevent the uptake of anticonvulsant medicine.
The report covered 10 cases, 7 of which are on the US FDA’s Special Nutritionals Adverse Event Monitoring System.
The authors suggested product manufacturers should be required to test for the level of ginkgotoxin.
The German equivalent of the FDA, Bfarm, ruled recently that pharmaceutical companies selling ginkgo biloba medications have to amend the package insert advising patients suffering from seizures to consult their physician before taking high-dosage medications of this type.
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