Native to China, Ginkgo biloba is the oldest living tree species on earth. Since antiquity, the extract of its leaves has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a variety of conditions. Ginkgo biloba extract is extremely beneficial for skin, especially skin in need of strengthening and moisturizing, and is therefore formulated in PHYTO5’s Water element Day Cream and Night Cream.
Ginkgo has a resilient ability to reduce inflammation, skin roughness and lines while increasing moisturization and smoothness of the skin.
Ginkgo biloba is very strengthening to skin because it stimulates collagen and elastin production in the skin by stimulating fibroblast cells(1).
Ginkgo biloba extract synthesizes the neurotransmitter dopamine in the skin.
“Dopamine is also involved in proper skin functioning and a healthy appearance as it supports an appropriate supply to the cells by increasing microcirculation through a noninflammatory mechanism(2) and improves recovery of the skin barrier.(3)” —Creating skin wellbeing by dopamine stimulation, Personal Care Magazine, September 2009
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As an anti-inflammatory, Gingko biloba is known to mitigate a couperose condition of the skin by exerting a protective effect on blood vessel walls.
Ginkgo is well known for its antioxidant properties as a free radical scavenger and is therefore a highly beneficial anti-aging ingredient in skincare.
As an effective blood vessel dilator, ginkgo acts as a tonic, supports overall body blood circulation, and stimulates oxygen consumption by the tissues.
Gingko’s neuroprotective properties leads to better memory and concentration, even reduced ringing in the ears of the elderly.
Though the gingko tree has existed for approximately three hundred million years, their fossils having been found all over the world, it is one species of the tree—Ginkgo biloba—that has survived the violent climate shifts on the planet at the end of the Paleozoic era.
This long living tree has no known parasites or diseases and it lives a thousand years or more even in polluted areas. It survived the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima. It was the first tree to resurface on the barren inhospitable site less than a kilometer from ground zero.
Ginkgo is somewhat of a sexual curiosity.
“While some plants possess both male and female reproductive parts simultaneously, ginkgo do not – individuals are either male or female. The stinky seeds for which the tree is famous develop only on females, appearing in the fall and dousing the ground with offspring.” —Oak Spring Garden Foundation, November 7, 2017
Traditional Chinese medicine makes use of the female tree’s seeds to fight asthma and other respiratory conditions.
Compiled about 206 B.C. to 220 A.D., the Chinese book on agriculture and medicine plants, the Shen Nung Pen T’sao Ching was first to recognize Ginkgo biloba’s positive effect on blood flow.
And the Dian Nan Ben Cao, the Materia Medica of Southern Yunnan, A. D. 1370, compiled by Lan Mao, seems to be the first to discuss the beneficial use of gingko leaves in skincare.
Since the discovery in 1932 of gingkolides, the biologically active terpenic lactones(4) present in Ginkgo biloba, gingko has been utilized in Western medicine—mainly for blood circulation support and memory stimulation—and the trees’ growth proliferated.
It’s no wonder that ginkgo is such a versatile and stalwart holistic ingredient in anti-aging skincare and remedies when you better understand the history and function of the tree. Gingko biloba passes on its eons-long records of survival and longevity information to your body and skin through its extract.
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(1) A fibroblast is a type of biological cell that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework (stroma) for animal tissues, and plays a critical role in wound healing.[ Fibroblasts are the most common cells of connective tissue in animals.
(2) Shigetomi S., Fukuchi S. Recent aspect of the role of peripheral dopamine and its receptors in the pathogenesis of hypertension. Fukushima J Med Sci n° 40. 69-83, 1994.
(3) Fuziwara S., Suzuki A., Inoue K., Denda M. Dopamine D2-Like Receptor Agonists Accelerate Barrier Repair and Inhibit the Epidermal Hyperplasia Induced by Barrier Disruption. J Invest Dermatol n° 125. 783-789, 2005.
(4) Lactone: an organic compound containing an ester group —OCO— as part of a ring
T. K., Lim. Edible Medicinal And Non Medicinal Plants: Volume 3, Fruits. Netherlands, Springer Netherlands, 2012.
Tammaro A, Cavallotti C, Gaspari AA, Narcisi A, Parisella FR, Cavallotti C. Dopaminergic receptors in the human skin. J Biol Regul Homeost Agents. 2012 Oct-Dec;26(4):789-95. PMID: 23241131
DiNardo, Joseph C., and Michalun, M. Varinia. Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. United States, Cengage Learning, 2014.
de Taillac, Victoire, and Touhami, Ramdane. An Atlas of Natural Beauty: Botanical Ingredients for Retaining and Enhancing Beauty. United States, Simon & Schuster, 2018.
Photo by Mieke Campbell at Unsplash