Does Ginkgo biloba Extract Cause Cancer?

Posted By elissa on Jun 4, 2013 | 2 comments

Rhetorical fists are flying over a recent technical report released by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) on the toxicology and carcinogenesis of oral Ginkgo biloba extract in rats and mice.

In one corner is the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which is advising consumers to avoid Ginkgo-containing supplements and energy drinks. The CSPI is also calling for an FDA ban.

In the other corner are supplement industry leaders, who are insisting that the report is “flawed.” Dr. Steven Dentali of the American Herbal Products Association has described the extract used in the NTP studies as an “outlier” w/respect to its higher concentration of active compounds.

At the moment, I’m neutral: I’ve always been “meh” on Gingko biloba as a cognitive enhancer (or treatment for cognitive decline), since the evidence in favor is weak/equivocal at best. Thus, while “avoid” may be too strong a word, I see zero reasons to seek it out. On the other hand, I also see little reason to panic: the NTP studies were explicitly NOT designed to evaluate human health risk.

In other words, my initial impression is “wait and see.” Given Ginkgo biloba’s history of use, I’d be willing to bet that there is little long-term cancer risk associated with the use of OTC extracts currently on the market (in recommended doses). It definitely merits further study, however.