Ginkgo Seed – 1 lb (454 g)

Ginkgo Seed, known in Chinese as 白果 (Báiguǒ) and scientifically as Semen Ginkgo, is a valued herb in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This TCM herb has been traditionally used to support natural wellness, maintain vitality, and encourage holistic balance. At TCMforyou.com, we provide premium-quality Ginkgo Seed carefully sourced to preserve its therapeutic properties.

As a herbal supplement, Ginkgo Seed helps promote overall well-being and supports natural energy, immunity, and balance. Integrating this herb into your wellness routine offers a gentle, time-tested approach to enhancing daily health. Whether brewed as tea, added to herbal remedies, or taken as part of a TCM formula, Ginkgo Seed provides a safe, natural way to experience the benefits of traditional Chinese medicine.

Trusted for centuries, Ginkgo Seed has been used in TCM to harmonize the body and encourage optimal functioning of key systems. At TCMforyou, we prioritize authenticity and quality. Each batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure purity and potency, delivering an herbal product aligned with traditional practices.

Experience the natural support of Ginkgo Seed, promoting immune health, vitality, and holistic well-being. Embrace the wisdom of TCM and incorporate this gentle, effective herbal remedy into your daily wellness journey.

[Overview] This herb is also known as Duck’s Foot, Spirit Eye, and Buddha Finger Orange. It is the mature seed of Ginkgo biloba L., a plant of the Ginkgoaceae family. It is cultivated in many regions, mainly produced in Guangxi, Sichuan, Henan, Shandong, and Hubei provinces. The seeds are harvested in late autumn when mature, the fleshy outer seed coat is removed, then washed, slightly steamed or briefly boiled, and dried. When used, the hard seed coat is cracked to extract the seed kernel.

[Properties] Taste: sweet, bitter, astringent; nature: neutral; toxic. Channels entered: Lung, Kidney.

[Actions] Astringes the lung and calms wheezing; stops leucorrhea and reduces frequent urination.

[Applications]
1. Used for asthma with phlegm and cough. For cough and asthma caused by wind-cold, often combined with Ephedra (Ma Huang), as in the formula Yāzhǎng Powder (Duck’s Foot Powder). For deficiency asthma due to lung and kidney deficiency, combined with Schisandra and walnut kernel. For external wind-cold with internal heat accumulation, combined with Ephedra and Scutellaria, as in Dingchuan Decoction. For yin deficiency lung dryness with wheezing and cough without phlegm, combined with Ophiopogon, Asparagus, and Glehnia.
2. Used for leucorrhea and white turbidity, often combined with Celosia. For spleen deficiency leucorrhea, combined with Euryale seed and Chinese yam; for damp-heat leucorrhea with yellow foul-smelling discharge, combined with Phellodendron and Plantago seed, as in Yihuang Decoction. For turbid white urine, used alone or combined with Dioscorea hypoglauca and Alpinia oxyphylla.
3. Used for enuresis, spermatorrhea, and frequent urination. Ginkgo seed used alone or combined with Mulberry Moth Cocoon, Cornus officinalis, and Rubus chingii.
Additionally, crushed ginkgo seed applied externally or sliced and frequently rubbed on affected areas can treat unidentified swellings and toxins, pediatric malnutrition sores, alcoholic nose inflammation, and facial ringworm.

[Dosage and Administration] Internal use: decoction, 4.5–9 g; or juice extracted by crushing. External use: appropriate amount, crushed and applied; or sliced and applied.

[Cautions] Contraindicated in cases with excess pathogenic factors. Raw or excessively roasted seeds can cause poisoning; accidental poisoning in children is especially common.

[Modern Research]
1. Chemical constituents: The seed contains ginkgotoxin, 6-(8-pentadecenyl) 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 6-tridecyl 2,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid, cascaroside, and 25 trace elements including potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and copper. The seed kernel contains protein, fat, carbohydrates, and sugars. The fleshy outer seed coat contains ginkgolic acid, hydrogenated ginkgolic acid, hydrogenated ginkgolic acid isomers, antiasthmatic ginkgo diphenols, ginkgo alcohol, and flavonoids.
2. Pharmacological effects: Ethanol extract of ginkgo seed has expectorant effects (phenol red excretion method); water extract of the outer seed coat significantly lowers blood pressure and left ventricular pressure, with a slight transient hypertensive effect before hypotension lasting about 2 minutes; ginkgo diphenols increase capillary permeability; ginkgo diphenols induce histamine release causing increased capillary permeability and edema; water-soluble components of the outer seed coat inhibit nonspecific immunity, humoral immunity, and cellular immunity; these components also have anti-aging effects; they inhibit various pathogenic bacteria including Mycobacterium tuberculosis (human and bovine types), Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Bacillus anthracis, Escherichia coli, Proteus, Salmonella typhi, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to varying degrees; ginkgo seed extracts have therapeutic effects on experimental cerebral ischemia.
3. Clinical reports: 1) Enuresis: cooked ginkgo seed with skin and core removed, one seed per year of age, maximum 20 seeds, taken once nightly for 10 days as one course; 20 cases treated, all cured. [Clinical Medicine, 1988; 8(11):502] 2) Pulmonary tuberculosis: ginkgo seeds soaked in vegetable oil for over 80 days, preferably 2–3 years; one seed taken before breakfast and after dinner daily (initial dose half seed, reduced for children); seeds crushed to soybean size and swallowed with warm water; about 60 seeds generally cure; 100 cases treated with notable efficacy. [Shanghai Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 1984,(7):33] 3) Alcoholic nose inflammation: before sleep, wash affected area with warm water, rub with a sliced ginkgo seed kernel repeatedly, cutting used parts during rubbing; 1–2 seeds used depending on lesion size; 116 cases treated with significant efficacy; lesions disappeared after 7–14 treatments. [New Chinese Medicine, 1982,(1):19]