Cochrane Systematic Reviews

Ginkgo biloba for intermittent claudication

Nicolaï SPA, Kruidenier LM, Bendermacher BLW, Prins MH, Teijink JAW. Ginkgo biloba for intermittent claudication. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2009, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD006888. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD006888.pub3.

People with intermittent claudication (IC) suffer from pain in the muscles of the leg occurring during exercise which is relieved by a short period of rest. Symptomatic relief can be achieved by (supervised) exercise therapy and pharmacological treatments. Ginkgo biloba is a vasoactive agent and is used to treat IC.

Overall, the authors concluded there is no evidence that Ginkgo biloba has a clinically significant benefit for patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Content assessed as up-tp-date: 13 March 2013