Gesundheit & Lifestyle
Gingko extract from the Ginkgo
An ingredient for skin crèmes
The myth of the Ginkgo
The reason for the huge widespread importance of the Ginkgo today in the arts, culture and medicine, grounds in Chinese philosophy and the appropriate morphology of the tree and its leafs. The dichotomous leaf and its dioecy are two indicators of the ginkgo and unique in the flora.
Additionally the Ginkgo unites longevity, resistivity and adaptability. That contributes to its popularity and worship as a culture and temple tree.
Because the Ginkgo has almost no natural enemies and it thrives in every soil and climate, it can acquire a high age, under good conditions. In Asia there are supposed to be trees that are 1000 years old, some say even 4000 years. The Ginkgo is therefore worshiped as power bestowing and life lengthening.
The temple tree in Hiroshima contributed to the modern myths for it is said, that at the atom bomb explosion in 1945 the Gingko went up in flames but budded and lived on the very same year.
Historical facts
There were rumors that the Ginkgo was extinct. In 1691 the German physician and explorer Engelbert Kämpfer discovered the Gingko in Japan. The trees were mainly surviving in cloister gardens in China. From here they spread in Japan and Korea through their semen.
For over 4000 years the Ginkgo is known in China as a healing tree. The bark, the leaf and the semen were used as cure.
In Europe its valuable healing characteristics were known only 200 years after the introduction of the Ginkgo as a park and garden tree. The worldwide triumph of the Ginkgo as a medical plant began in 1960. Since then Gingko extract is used as a treatment for illnesses.
The healing powers of the Gingko
The Gingko leafs contain valuable, and in parts unique, substances:
Flavonoids and Terpenoids.
The main Flayonol-Glykosides in the Gingko leafs are Kaempferol, Quercetin and Isorhamnetin. In small amounts there are also Biflayone. The special Terpenoids: Ginkgolide and Biloblid are only findable in the Ginkgo.
Back to german web page
Social Bookmarking:
