Ginkgo biloba extract not effective at lowering IOP among patients with glaucoma
Key takeaways:
- Gingko biloba extract had no effect on IOP, mean deviation, corrected pattern standard deviation or heart rate in individuals with or without glaucoma.
- Additionally, it was not superior to placebo or no treatment.
Administration of Ginkgo biloba extract did not significantly improve IOP or other endpoints of interest among patients with glaucoma or healthy volunteers, according to a review published in PLoS One.
“In previous studies, Ginkgo biloba extract has been shown to slow the progression of visual field damage and improve visual function in normal-tension glaucoma patients,” Julia Prinz, MD, resident physician in the department of ophthalmology at University Hospital RWTH Aachen and University Hospital of Cologne in Germany, and colleagues wrote. “However, to date, conclusive evidence of the efficacy of Ginkgo biloba extract on IOP, the mean deviation and the corrected pattern standard deviation of visual field testing, and the heart rate are lacking.”
In December 2023, Prinz and colleagues searched Google Scholar, Web of Science, PubMed and Embase databases to perform a systematic review of eight comparative studies — which included 428 individuals (mean age, 51.1 ± 15.5 years; 56% women) with or without glaucoma — that evaluated the efficacy of oral Ginkgo biloba administration on IOP, mean deviation, corrected pattern standard deviation and heart rate.
Across all studies, 327 individuals had normal-tension glaucoma, 30 had primary open-angle glaucoma, and 71 were healthy volunteers. The median follow-up was 3.7 months.
Calculating the mean difference from baseline to the last follow-up, the researchers found the administration of Ginkgo biloba extract was not associated with a significant improvement in IOP (–1.5), mean deviation (0.7), corrected pattern standard deviation (–1.6) or heart rate (–2.5).
Additionally, at the last follow-up, they reported no difference in IOP (mean difference, 1.1), mean deviation (mean difference, –0.4), corrected pattern standard deviation (mean difference, 0.3) and heart rate (mean difference, –1.3) between those who received Ginkgo biloba extract and those who received standard therapy, placebo or no therapy.
Prinz and colleagues acknowledged several limitations to their review, including the limited number of studies evaluated, the short follow-up times for those studies and the fact that half of them had a retrospective design.
“Future large cohort randomized controlled trials are warranted to further establish the role of Ginkgo biloba extract in the different glaucoma subtypes,” the researchers wrote.
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