Ginkgo Constituents

The image above comes from the class lesson.

I have nine herbariums left to the posted on this site.  I also wrote a poem last night which is my new mantra which I will be adding today.  It occurred to me most mantras out there have negative words and I wanted only positive ones. I'll record it once I get time.  It's going to be another very busy day.

As I was working on the herbariums yesterday, I was thinking about how I post the actions and constituents here.  Since the actions are a much smaller list and are used more frequently, I have no problem with the way I'm doing them but I'm still not fully happy with the constituents.  Once I have posted the rest of the herbariums the right way, I'll go through each and create appendices for the actions and constituents.  This will create a consolidated list for each herb to make it easier to find the information.  I'll still post here as I do but update the herbariums once the posts are all done.  This will also give me a head start on the book entries for those herbs as all book entries will be fully broken out.

Much to get done.  Love and Light!

On to Ginkgo constituents.

Diterpene lactones

Ginkgetin

Kaempferol Derivatives

Kaempferol (3,5,7,4-tetrahydroxyflavone) (Flavonoids): responsible for eliminating free radicals in plants caused by UV radiation of the sun.

Quercetin (Flavonoid) reduces allergy-induced inflammation, inhibits the growth of head and neck cancers, inhibits reverse transcriptase. Fallon says this has anti-thyroid properties (Hoffman, 2003, p. 14; Fallon, 2001, p. 502). (Buchu, Cinnamon, European elder, Marshmallow, Passionflower)

Gingkolides (A, B, C, J, and M) (Diterpene Lactones, Flavones): These inhibit the PAF (platelet activating factor). This means is prevents clotting, thins the blood.  Use caution if taking blood thinners. (Ginkgo)

Sesquiterpene lactones: these can kill sheep and goats - are highly irritating to their nose, eyes, and gastrointestinal tracts. Other lactones break down the toxins through metabolism. These can help with cancer but can also be cytotoxic so they are often avoided (Hoffman, 2003, p. 70, 174, 199, 370).

Bilobalide

Flavone glycosides

Flavonol glycosides

Flavonoids: All polyphenolic plant pigments of a specific structure. There are over 4,000 of them. These are broken down into categories: Catechins, dihydrochalones, chalones, flavanones (dihydroflavones), flavones, isoflavones, anthocyanides, aurones, flavanols, and flavonols. This general property is immunomodulatory due to antioxidant/free-radical scavenging ability (Hoffman, 2006, p. 100-102, 152, 167, 170, 174).

Amino Acid (Protein) can be very water soluble. The issue here is amino acids vary greatly on pH. Some are water soluble, some are alcohol soluble.  Temperature can also have an effect.  (Ganora, 2009, 12, 21, 44, 45, 65, 101, 103, 104, 107, 114, 133, 154).

Alkaloids are defined by Hoffman as "organic compounds with at least one nitrogen atom in the heterocyclic ring". This is the ONLY thing they all have in common. They are not usually soluble in water, nor are their salts. Most are also alkaline (Hoffman, 2003, p. 120-133, 152).

Flavone

Rutin (Flavonoid) is an anti-inflammatory and loves to scavenge free-radicals. It helps strengthen blood vessels - specifically capillaries and veins. It is also antiviral and antibacterial (Hoffman, 2003, p. 105).

Proanthocyanidins are condensed tannins.  If acids or enzymes are present, they are not water-soluble. These are antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective (Hoffman, 2003, p. 13, 114, Ganora, 2009, p. 66).

Isorhamnetin

the trilactonic diterpenes

Cyanogenic glycosides (C-glycosides) (Amino Acid): These are composed of a sugar moiety, 2 variable R groups, and a nitrile group. They are also derived of various amino acids such as phenylalanine, tyrosine, leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These are bitter compounds that can be toxic but humans do not complete absorption of them. We are able to digest a very small amount as a result. These are more soluble in hot water or hot alcohol.

Phenolic compounds are compounds of simple phenols and polyphenols. They are found as glycosides which are more water-soluble than the other form which is aglycones. There is a list here of the various compounds and what their solubility is if it can be narrowed down to one solvent (Ganora, 2009, p. 45).

Have a Great Day!