Cardiovascular Activity of Ginkgo biloba—An Insight from Healthy Subjects

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species in the world and its extracts are among the most used herbal preparations in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Most clinical data on the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba is from clinical studies, with few results from healthy subjects. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the mechanisms underlying the known beneficial cardiovascular activities of Ginkgo biloba and its main compounds. This plant displays myocardial suppressant and vasorelaxant activities ex vivo. It improves perfusion in different vascular beds without significantly affecting blood pressure and heart rate. In addition, it displays an acceptable safety profile, with most reported adverse reactions constituting rare occurrences. Collectively, Ginkgo biloba impacts cardiovascular physiology, improving hemodynamics and organ perfusion. In the future, better controlled clinical studies should be performed in order to identify the target populations who could benefit the most with pharmacotherapeutic interventions involving this plant. ABSTRACT: Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species in the world. Despite less than encouraging clinical results, extracts from its leaves are among the most used herbal preparations in the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Most data on the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba on cardiovascular disease is from clinical studies, with few results from healthy subjects. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the mechanisms underlying the known beneficial cardiovascular activities of Ginkgo biloba. It displays myocardial suppressant and vasorelaxant activities ex vivo, potentiating endothelial-dependent and -independent pathways. It improves perfusion in different vascular beds, namely ocular, cochlear, cutaneous, cerebral, and coronary. Although scarce, evidence suggests that Ginkgo biloba displays a heterogeneous effect on tissue perfusion which is dependent on the individual elimination pathways. It displays an acceptable safety profile, with most reported adverse reactions constituting rare occurrences. Collectively, Ginkgo biloba positively impacts cardiovascular physiology, improving hemodynamics and organ perfusion. In the future, better controlled clinical studies should be performed in order to identify the target populations who may benefit the most from pharmacotherapeutic interventions involving Ginkgo biloba.