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Ginkgo biloba and memory: grade N

No benefit shown evidence. Direction: No effect.

N No benefit shown

Educational guidance, not medical advice

Why this grade

Rubric condition met: Adequate human RCTs found no meaningful effect: meta-analysis of 13 RCTs (1,132 participants) in healthy individuals plus a 230-person 6-week RCT, both null

A 2012 meta-analysis of randomized trials in healthy individuals found a memory effect size close to zero (d = -0.04), unrelated to dose or duration, and a 2007 systematic review of 15 RCTs found no convincing benefit. A 6-week RCT in 230 healthy adults over 60 and the GEM trial in 3,069 older adults found no difference from placebo. Isolated positive memory measures in three trials (a 6-week trial of the EGb 761 extract; one older-adult measure at p = 0.04; a single-dose pattern-recognition task in students that did not persist at 6 weeks) do not outweigh the pooled null result.

How we grade evidence

Studies this grade rests on

EffectMixedNo effectSize shows participants (n)2000200520102015Meta-analysisSystematic reviewRCTControlled trialSnitz 2009, 2009: RCT, n = 3,069, result not recordedLaws 2012, 2012: meta-analysis, n = 1,132, result not recordedSolomon 2002, 2002: RCT, n = 230, result not recordedBurns 2006, 2006: controlled trial, n = 197, result not recordedKaschel 2011, 2011: RCT, n = 188, result not recordedCanter 2007, 2007: systematic review, n not recorded, result not recorded
each study this grade rests on, by publication year and design. Solid: effect versus the comparator; half-filled: mixed; hollow: no effect; dashed: result not recorded yet. Larger marks had more participants.
Show the numbers
StudyYearDesignParticipantsResult
Solomon 20022002RCT230result not recorded
Burns 20062006controlled trial197result not recorded
Canter 20072007systematic reviewnot recordedresult not recorded
Snitz 20092009RCT3069result not recorded
Kaschel 20112011RCT188result not recorded
Laws 20122012meta-analysis1132result not recorded

Ginkgo biloba for preventing cognitive decline in older adults: a randomized trial.

Snitz BE, O'Meara ES, Carlson MC. Ginkgo biloba for preventing cognitive decline in older adults: a randomized trial JAMA, 2009. PMID 20040554

Result not recorded
Design
Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (GEM study), median follow-up 6.1 years
Sample
n = 3,069
Population
Community-dwelling adults aged 72-96 with normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment
Funding
NIA and NCCIH (NIH) grants (PubMed grant list)

Specific memory effects of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in middle-aged healthy volunteers.

Kaschel R. Specific memory effects of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in middle-aged healthy volunteers Phytomedicine, 2011. PMID 21802920

Result not recorded
Design
Randomized placebo-controlled trial, 6 weeks
Sample
n = 188
Population
Healthy adults aged 45-56
Funding
not stated (PubMed and Crossref records)

Ginkgo biloba: no robust effect on cognitive abilities or mood in healthy young or older adults.

Burns NR, Bryan J, Nettelbeck T. Ginkgo biloba: no robust effect on cognitive abilities or mood in healthy young or older adults Hum Psychopharmacol, 2006. PMID 16329161

Result not recorded
Design
12-week double-blind, placebo-controlled trial
Sample
n = 197
Population
Healthy older adults (55-79) and young adults (18-43)
Funding
not stated (PubMed and Crossref records)

Ginkgo for memory enhancement: a randomized controlled trial.

Solomon PR, Adams F, Silver A. Ginkgo for memory enhancement: a randomized controlled trial JAMA, 2002. PMID 12186600

Result not recorded
Design
Six-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial
Sample
n = 230
Population
Healthy adults older than 60 without cognitive impairment
Funding
NIA NIH HHS AGO-5134-08S2 (PubMed grant list)

Ginkgo biloba is not a smart drug: an updated systematic review of randomised clinical trials testing the nootropic effects of G. biloba extracts in healthy people.

Canter PH, Ernst E. Ginkgo biloba is not a smart drug: an updated systematic review of randomised clinical trials testing the nootropic effects of G. biloba extracts in healthy people Hum Psychopharmacol, 2007. PMID 17480002

Result not recorded
Design
Systematic review of 15 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trials
Population
Healthy people under 60 years
Funding
not stated (PubMed and Crossref records)

Is Ginkgo biloba a cognitive enhancer in healthy individuals? A meta-analysis.

Laws KR, Sweetnam H, Kondel TK. Is Ginkgo biloba a cognitive enhancer in healthy individuals? A meta-analysis Hum Psychopharmacol, 2012. PMID 23001963

Result not recorded
Design
Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (memory k=13, executive function k=7, attention k=8)
Sample
n = 1,132
Population
Healthy individuals
Funding
not stated (PubMed and Crossref records)

Search and history

Search (): ginkgo[ti] AND (memory[tiab] OR cognitive[tiab] OR cognition[tiab]) AND healthy[tiab] AND (meta-analysis[pt] OR systematic review[pt])

  • Graded N (proposed): Proposed in the monograph draft
  • N to N (approved): Editor sign-off November 13, 2026: grade matches the editor-approved final page