Does Ginkgo Help with Stroke Recovery?

A recent study presented at the International Stroke Conference is generating a lot of buzz about using ginkgo for stroke recovery. Here’s what you should know.

While the full results have yet to be published, some details on this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter clinical trial are available. Patients with stroke randomized to receive IV ginkgo saw significant improvements in their Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) scores compared with placebo at day 14 and day 90 of treatment. Scores in visual space and execution, attention, and language were among those significantly higher for patients receiving ginkgo.

These findings are similar to a study published earlier this year also using IV ginkgo. Starting ginkgo treatment within 48 hours of stroke symptoms for 14 days increased the proportion of patients with favorable outcomes by 15% when compared with placebo.

We’ll keep you updated as the new study details are released. But it’s important to note that this research was conducted in China where there are different standards of care – administering ginkgo intravenously isn’t something that would be done in the US. Check out our ginkgo monograph to learn more about the evidence supporting oral ginkgo for stroke recovery.