Product Overview
NOW Foods Ginkgo Biloba is a standardised ginkgo leaf extract in a bottle of 60 vegetarian capsules. According to the supplement facts panel in the product photos, each capsule contains 60mg of ginkgo leaf extract — a 50:1 concentrate standardised to at least 24% ginkgo flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones — together with 200mg of plain ginkgo leaf powder.
It is manufactured and quality tested by NOW Foods in Bloomingdale, Illinois, USA, and the front label marks it vegetarian/vegan and non-GMO. The seller’s own description is already careful: it presents ginkgo as a wellness supplement and says plainly that it is not a medicine. We agree.
Key Benefits
Ginkgo is taken for memory, concentration and circulation. It is one of the most heavily researched herbs, and the honest summary is:
- Healthy adults: large trials have not shown a meaningful improvement in memory or concentration.
- Dementia: a major US trial in more than 3,000 older adults found ginkgo did not lower the rate of dementia.
- People who already have memory problems: some trials of standardised extract report small benefits. The evidence is mixed.
- Circulation: ginkgo acts on blood vessels and platelets — the reason for the bleeding warning below — but its effect on leg pain from poor circulation has been small and inconsistent.
Key Features
- 60mg ginkgo leaf extract per capsule, 50:1, standardised to min. 24% flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones
- Plus 200mg whole ginkgo leaf powder per capsule
- Vegetarian capsule (hypromellose); labelled vegetarian/vegan and non-GMO
- 60 capsules
- Made by NOW Foods, USA — family owned since 1968
Ingredients / Specifications
Per 1 veg capsule, from the supplement facts panel in the product photos:
- Ginkgo extract (Ginkgo biloba, leaf) — 60mg (50:1 standardised extract, min. 24% ginkgoflavonglycosides and 6% terpene lactones)
- Ginkgo powder (Ginkgo biloba, leaf) — 200mg
Other ingredients: hypromellose (cellulose capsule) and magnesium stearate (vegetable source).
About the two forms: a 24% / 6% standardised extract is the type used in most ginkgo research, usually at 120-240mg a day. The 200mg of plain leaf powder is far less concentrated — it is the 60mg of extract that matters when you compare products.
How to Use
- Follow the directions on the bottle. They are not legible in the listing photos, and the seller’s text says only that the capsules are taken daily with water and food — message us and we will read the bottle before you order.
- Take it with food to reduce stomach upset.
- Stop at least two weeks before any operation or dental procedure, and tell the surgeon you have been taking it.
- Trials ran for months. Review it with your doctor rather than taking it indefinitely by default.
Who Is It Suitable For?
Adults who want to try a standardised ginkgo extract and have checked with a doctor if they take any medicine.
- Blood thinners or a bleeding disorder — not without your doctor’s agreement (see below). The caution on the bottle, partly visible in the photo, mentions bleeding disorders too.
- Antidepressants and other regular medicines — the bottle’s caution mentions medication, including antidepressants. Ask your doctor or pharmacist first.
- Epilepsy or a history of seizures — ginkgo has been linked to seizures in rare cases. Avoid it.
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding — avoid; it may increase bleeding around delivery.
- Diabetes medicine — ginkgo may affect blood sugar. Tell your doctor and monitor.
- Not for children. Headache, stomach upset, dizziness and skin reactions are the common side effects.
Why Choose NOW Foods Ginkgo Biloba?
A standardised 24% / 6% leaf extract — the type used in research — in vegetarian capsules, from a long-established maker that prints its full supplement facts and its address on the bottle.
Important — Ginkgo and Bleeding
Ginkgo reduces the stickiness of blood platelets. On its own that rarely matters; combined with medicine that does the same, it can.
- Do not take it with warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel or any other blood thinner without your doctor’s agreement. There are reports of serious bleeding with the combination.
- Be careful with regular painkillers such as ibuprofen, and with other supplements that affect bleeding — fish oil, garlic and high-dose turmeric among them.
- Stop and get advice if you notice unusual bruising, nosebleeds or bleeding gums.
What the Evidence Actually Says
Herbal supplements sit in an awkward place: some have real, measured effects, many have small ones, and a few have none beyond what people expect from taking them. The marketing rarely distinguishes between the three.
“Natural” does not mean “safe” or “gentle”. Plants make powerful compounds — that is why so many medicines came from them in the first place — and a herb strong enough to have an effect is strong enough to interact with a medicine. Herbal products are also less tightly regulated than medicines, so what is in the bottle varies more between brands than it does for a pharmaceutical.
Symptoms Need a Doctor, Not a Capsule
If you have symptoms — pain, a change in how your body is working, something that has been getting worse — the useful thing to do is get it looked at. A supplement bought because a listing named your symptom delays that, and delay is the part that causes harm.
Take this if you and a doctor have decided it is a sensible addition. Do not take it as a way of avoiding the appointment.
This Is a Supplement, Not a Medicine
A dietary supplement is a food product. It is not a medicine, it has not been through the testing a medicine goes through, and it does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
Supplement labels use health language — “supports”, “helps maintain”, “promotes” — precisely because they are not permitted to claim treatment. Read them that way. If a listing anywhere promises that a capsule will fix a medical condition, that promise is not one the product can keep.
What a supplement can honestly do is fill a gap in your diet. That is worth something, and it is a smaller thing than most packaging implies.
Talk to a Doctor First
Speak to a doctor or pharmacist before you start, particularly if you:
- take any prescribed medicine — supplements interfere with medicines more often than people expect
- are being treated for a heart, liver, kidney, thyroid or blood condition
- have diabetes
- are pregnant, trying to conceive, or breastfeeding
- have surgery or a dental procedure coming up
Never stop or reduce a prescribed medicine in order to take a supplement instead. That is the single most dangerous thing anyone does with a product like this, and it is what the marketing language quietly invites.
About the Imported Pack
This is an imported product. The label, the dose instructions and the ingredient panel are the ones printed for the market it was made for, and the wording may differ from a locally packaged version.
Follow the dose printed on the pack itself — it is the authority on its own contents — and check the expiry date when it arrives. If anything on the label is unclear, message us before you take it and we will read it to you.
Storage
- Keep the container tightly closed, somewhere cool and dry, out of direct sunlight.
- Do not store it in a bathroom. Heat and humidity break supplements down faster than anything else, and a Dhaka bathroom is the worst place in the house for them.
- Leave the desiccant sachet in the bottle. It is there to keep moisture out, not by mistake.
- Softgels and fish oils are best kept in a fridge in hot weather — they go rancid otherwise.
- Keep it out of reach of children.
- Do not use it after the expiry date, and throw it away if the capsules smell strongly off, have stuck together or changed colour.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will it improve my memory?
In healthy adults, large trials say probably not. If you have noticed real memory changes, see a doctor — thyroid problems, B12 deficiency, depression and medicine side effects are common causes that can be put right.
Is 60mg a weak dose?
It is 60mg of a concentrated 50:1 extract, not 60mg of leaf, so it is stronger than the number suggests. Research mostly used 120-240mg of extract a day. Follow the bottle and ask your doctor what suits you.
Can I take it with fish oil?
Both affect bleeding, so the effects can add up. Ask your doctor, especially if you also take aspirin or another blood thinner.
Is it vegetarian?
Yes. The capsule is hypromellose (plant cellulose) and the label marks it vegetarian/vegan.
How long before I notice anything?
Honestly: with most supplements, you do not notice anything, because filling a nutritional gap feels like nothing. Where there is a measurable effect it usually takes weeks to months. Be sceptical of anything you feel within a day or two.
Is this the genuine imported product?
Yes. It is sourced as an import, so the bottle is printed for its origin market rather than for Bangladesh. The seal should be intact when it reaches you — tell us straight away if it is not.
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