Herb module
Bai Gou Ye
Ginkgo LeafGinkgo biloba
Leaves from one of Earth's most ancient trees, used to calm the Lungs, move Blood, and steady the Heart and Spirit.
Bai Gou Ye is the leaf of the ginkgo tree, a species that has outlasted almost every plant around it. Traditional Chinese Medicine uses it to calm the Lungs and get Blood moving. Zoi adds it to Xýlo™, where its reputation for supporting clear thinking and a settled Heart fits the formula's focus on brain and mood.
Best functions
- Traditionally used to calm the Lungs and ease cough and wheezing
- Used to move Blood
- Traditionally used to calm the Heart and Shen (Spirit)
- Used to stabilize the Kidneys
- Studies suggest support for recall, processing speed, and a calmer mood
Fascinating facts
- Ginkgo is often called a "living fossil." Its family once grew across much of the world, and this single species is the only one left.
- Ginkgo is sometimes called the ancient brain tree. Its bitter leaf is traditionally used to calm the spirit and clear away mental fog.
- Ye means "leaf" in Chinese. Zoi uses the leaf, while the tree's seeds are a separate food, roasted and eaten as ginkgo nuts in Chinese and Japanese cooking.
- Clinical studies of ginkgo have looked at memory and found improvements in recall and in the speed of information processing.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine
Bai Gou Ye is neutral in nature, with a bitter, sweet, and astringent flavor. It is an astringent herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and it enters the Lung channel.
Biomedical deep dive
Bai Gou Ye Ginkgo Leaf
From the Zoi Medicinals fact sheets’ Biomedical Details, with lines from Noa’s herb notes marked “Noa’s notes”.
On the fact sheet
- Bai Gou Ye (Gingko, Ginkgo biloba) enters LU meridian; calms the Lungs and moves Blood, relieves cough with copious mucus, wheezing and pain from coughing; the sheet also names hypertension, coronary artery disease and angina pectoris among its traditional uses. Brain + Mood | Xýlo sheet
Key active constituents
The fact sheets don’t name constituents for this herb.
Pharmacology and mechanisms
- Ginkgo is one of several Xýlo herbs that have shown anti-anxiety effects in various studies.
- Ginkgo appears to support cognition, including recall and the speed of information and executive processing (planning and decision-making).
- Inhibits platelet-activating factor (PAF, a signal that makes platelets clump) and improves blood flow to the brain. Noa’s notes
- Antioxidant through its flavonoid glycosides (plant pigments bound to sugars); protects nerve cells against oxidative damage. Noa’s notes
- Anti-inflammatory; modulates serotonin and dopamine receptor activity. Noa’s notes
What the research says
- In a randomized controlled trial in people with GAD and adjustment disorder with anxious mood, ginkgo significantly lowered Hamilton anxiety (HAMA) scores (Sarris et al., Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2011).
- Clinical studies of ginkgo have shown improved recall and faster information and executive processing (Roe et al., Curr Neuropharmacol 2021).
Safety, interactions and cautions
- Every Zoi fact sheet: do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding unless directed by your health care practitioner.
- The Brain + Mood | Xýlo fact sheet cautions anyone with a medical condition or taking medication to consult their doctor before use.
- Caution in pregnancy. Noa’s notes
- Caution with anticoagulants (blood thinners) because of bleeding risk; may potentiate warfarin and aspirin. · Noa’s notes
- May interact with SSRIs (a common class of antidepressants). Noa’s notes
- Caution with seizure disorders. Noa’s notes
In these Zoi formulas
- Brain + Mood | Xýlo (#11 on the fact sheet)
