Department of Anatomy, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2010 Jan 8;11(1):107-23. doi: 10.3390/ijms11010107.
Standardized extract from the leaves of the Ginkgo biloba tree, labeled EGb761, is one of the most popular herbal supplements. Numerous preclinical studies have shown the neuroprotective effects of EGb761 and support the notion that it may be effective in the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Despite the preclinical promise, the clinical efficacy of this drug remains elusive. In this review, possible mechanisms underlying neuroprotective actions of EGb761 are described in detail, together with a brief discussion of the problem of studying this herb clinically to verify its efficacy in the treatment and prevention of AD. Moreover, various parameters e.g., the dosage and the permeability of the blood brain barrier (BBB), impacting the outcome of the clinical effectiveness of the extract are also discussed. Overall, the findings summarized in this review suggest that, a better understanding of the neuroprotective mechanisms of EGb761 may contribute to better understanding of the effectiveness and complexity of this herb and may also be helpful for design of therapeutic strategies in future clinical practice. Therefore, in future clinical studies, different factors that could interfere with the effect of EGb761 should be considered.
银杏叶提取物标准化制剂（商品名：EGb761）是最受欢迎的草药补充剂之一。大量的临床前研究表明 EGb761 具有神经保护作用，并支持其可有效治疗和预防阿尔茨海默病（AD）等神经退行性疾病的观点。尽管有临床前的承诺，但这种药物的临床疗效仍然难以捉摸。在这篇综述中，详细描述了 EGb761 发挥神经保护作用的可能机制，并简要讨论了在临床上研究这种草药以验证其在 AD 治疗和预防中的功效所面临的问题。此外，还讨论了影响提取物临床疗效的各种参数，例如剂量和血脑屏障（BBB）的通透性。总的来说，本综述中总结的研究结果表明，更好地了解 EGb761 的神经保护机制可能有助于更好地理解这种草药的有效性和复杂性，也可能有助于为未来的临床实践设计治疗策略。因此，在未来的临床研究中，应考虑可能干扰 EGb761 作用的不同因素。
