SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2013
Ginkgo biloba for intermittent claudication.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- A to Z of Health: An Evidence-Based Narrative Review of Multivitamin-Multimineral and Nutraceutical Supplementation.Cureus · 2026Review
- Ginkgo Biloba: Plant-Based Proarrhythmic Potential?JACC. Case reports · 2020Article
- Current Therapeutic Strategies in Diabetic Foot Ulcers.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2019Review
- Multi-Response Optimization of Ultrasonic Assisted Enzymatic Extraction Followed by Macroporous Resin Purification for Maximal Recovery of Flavonoids and Ginkgolides from WasteMolecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2018Article
- Optimization of Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction Followed by Macroporous Resin Purification for Maximal Recovery of Functional Components and Removal of Toxic Components fromBioMed research international · 2018Article
- Review of Ginkgo biloba-induced toxicity, from experimental studies to human case reports.Journal of environmental science and health. Part C, Environmental carcinogenesis & ecotoxicology reviews · 2017Review
- [Herbal medicines: when to use or not to use?].Der Internist · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPeople with intermittent claudication (IC) suffer from pain in the muscles of the leg occurring during exercise which is relieved by a short period of rest. Symptomatic relief can be achieved by (supervised) exercise therapy and pharmacological treatments. Ginkgo biloba is a vasoactive agent and is used to treat IC.
objectivesTo assess the effect of Ginkgo biloba on walking distance in people with intermittent claudication. SEARCH
methodsFor this update the Cochrane Peripheral Vascular Diseases Group Trials Search Co-ordinator searched the Specialised Register (March 2013) and CENTRAL (2013, Issue 2). SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials of Ginkgo biloba extract, irrespective of dosage, versus placebo in people with IC. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently assessed trials for selection, assessed study quality and extracted data. We extracted number of patients, mean walking distances or times and standard deviations. To standardise walking distance or time, caloric expenditures were used to express the difference between the different treadmill protocols, which were calculated from the speed and incline of the treadmill. MAIN
resultsFourteen trials with a total of 739 participants were included. Eleven trials involving 477 participants compared Ginkgo biloba with placebo and assessed the absolute claudication distance (ACD). Following treatment with Ginkgo biloba at the end of the study the ACD increased with an overall effect size of 3.57 kilocalories (confidence interval (CI) -0.10 to 7.23, P = 0.06), compared with placebo. This translates to an increase of just 64.5 ( CI -1.8 to 130.7) metres on a flat treadmill with an average speed of 3.2 km/h. Publication bias leading to missing data or "negative" trials is likely to have inflated the effect size. AUTHORS'
conclusionsOverall, there is no evidence that Ginkgo biloba has a clinically significant benefit for patients with peripheral arterial disease.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.