Ginkgo biloba is unfit for tea cooking

Federal Institute warns: Ginkgo biloba is unsuitable for tea cooking.

(26.04.2010) Many plants are an important part of our food. But there are also a number of plants such. B. Ginkgo biloba, whose preparations do not belong to the diet, but in the pharmacy. This opinion is also supported by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and warns of possible dangers that can arise from ginkgo in food.

In December 2008, BfR established the Commission on Nutrition, Dietetic Products, Novel Foods and Allergies. One of the tasks of this body - composed of 14 external independent experts - is to advise the Federal Institute on the Assessment of Food Risks.

At its last meeting, the Commission also looked at ginkgo-containing teas. The occasion was a study carried out by the Central Laboratory of German Pharmacists (ZL) in which 48.08 to 98.95 mg ginkgolic acid per cup were found in nine different teas that are marketed as food. Ginkgolic acid can trigger allergies and damage nerve cells. This means that a single cup of such a tea can exceed the maximum daily allowable dose of 1.2 mg ginkgolic acid by more than 80 times.

Unlike ginkgo-containing foods such as teas, ginkgo extracts that are approved as medicines and sold in pharmacies are safe. Because they have to meet the requirements of the pharmacopoeia. Therefore, their content of ginkgolic acid is greatly depleted - and with it any other questionable ingredients. In addition, unlike food, medicines are strictly controlled before they are launched onto the market and are precisely dosed. These conditions of safe use do not meet ginkgo-containing foods. The BfR experts argued in their last meeting that “There are considerable safety concerns over ginkgo-containing tea preparations“. The Commission therefore considers that ginkgo-containing foods are not marketable. Further information on phytotherapy can be found at: www.phytotherapie-komitee.de.