This page has two jobs. First, it explains the one herb printed on the bottle we write about, what it is, and what the research does and does not say about it. Second, it lists the headlines we run, tells you which ones overreach, and separates the few things that are genuinely supported from the many that are not.
You almost certainly arrived here from an advertisement. The headline you clicked was written by us and paid for by us to appear next to real news stories. It was designed to make you stop scrolling, and some of our headlines lean harder on a story than the evidence does.
Everything on this site is a paid advertisement for a product sold by someone else. If you buy through a link on any of our pages, we may be paid a commission. That is the reason this site exists.
The product is Ginkgo, a liquid extract of ginkgo leaf sold by Herb Pharm of Central Point, Oregon: 660 mg of certified organic ginkgo leaf extract per 0.7 ml serving, in cane alcohol, water and glycerin, about 42 servings in a 1 oz bottle. No study has ever tested this bottle, the large trials of ginkgo extract found no difference from a placebo, and the label carries the standard statement that its claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Nothing on this page is a substitute for your own clinician.
If you have noticed names, words or errands slipping, the single most useful thing you can do is tell your clinician at your next checkup and keep a simple notebook of what you notice. That costs you nothing from us, and it is worth more than anything we write about.
| The headline as you saw it | What is actually behind it |
|---|---|
| "The Bench Under the Corner Ginkgo, and the Leaf Pressed in My Field Guide" | Story, not a claim The bottle is real; Harlan, Irene, the town and the bench are composites, and the column is a dramatization built on the seller's listing, label, reviews and return pages. |
| "A leaf from the oldest tree on the square" | Exaggerated Ginkgo is a very old tree species with a long herbal tradition. Tradition is not evidence: the six-year trial of 3,069 older adults found a standardized extract did no better than a placebo, and the federal complementary-health center says there is no conclusive evidence ginkgo helps any health condition. |
| "About 45 cents a squeeze" | Broadly supported $18.98 for a 1 oz bottle the label lists at about 42 servings, checked against the seller's listing in October 2026. The 4 oz bottle at $56.98 works out to about 34 cents a serving. |
| "One herb on one line" | Broadly supported The Supplement Facts panel lists a single active ingredient: ginkgo leaf extract, 660 mg per 0.7 ml, extraction rate 140 mg herb per 0.7 ml, ratio 1:5. Other ingredients are cane alcohol (57-67%), distilled water and vegetable glycerin. |
| "A clearer morning on the bench" | Story, not a claim The composite narrator walked to a bench, practiced a list of names, went back to a weekly breakfast and took the extract, and says he cannot tell which one mattered. We do not claim the bottle did anything. |
Because stories stop the scroll better than ingredient lists do. That is exactly the problem. We keep the honest version of every claim here so you can compare it with the ad side by side.
The seller publishes two return pages that do not say quite the same thing, so we give you both. The "Shipping & Returns" page says you can return the product within 30 days, with proof of purchase, for a replacement or a refund of the purchase price, after calling 800-348-4372 for a return authorization number; it also covers damaged, defective, tampered or out-of-date products.
The separate "Refund policy" page says you can return the product for a replacement or a credit, notifying the company within 30 days of purchase to receive a full credit, and that returns caused by the company's error should be reported within 7 days of receipt. If the difference between a refund and a credit matters to you, ask by phone before ordering.
The only ingredient · Mostly null
The leaf of the ginkgo tree, the last surviving species of a very old family of trees. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition, that it may increase the risk of bleeding in people taking anticoagulants, and that fresh ginkgo seeds are toxic.
3,069 people · No difference
In the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study, 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96 took 120 mg of a standardized ginkgo extract twice a day or a placebo for a median of about six years. The ginkgo group did no better on tests of memory, attention, visual skills, language or planning.
93 people · One result among many
In 93 healthy adults aged 55 to 79, 120 mg a day of ginkgo extract for twelve weeks was associated with a moderate effect on one kind of associational learning task, with no meaningful difference on any other measure.
A different product · Combination
A fourteen-week trial in 256 healthy middle-aged volunteers found a modest average improvement on a memory index with capsules combining ginkgo and ginseng extracts. Ginseng is not in this bottle; that result belongs to a combination, not to ginkgo alone.
1,121 people · No difference
In a large British trial, 34 of 360 people on ginkgo extract and 35 of 360 on placebo said the ringing in their ears troubled them less after twelve weeks. A Cochrane review of 1,543 people across four trials found no evidence ginkgo helped with that complaint.
One herb, amount printed, in an alcohol-based liquid extract. A long tradition, two large trials with null results, one small trial with one positive measure, and no study on this bottle. A simple daily habit at most, not a plan for your head.
The label says "Nervous System" and "Mental Clarity" with an asterisk, and the asterisk leads to the standard statement that the claims have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and that the product is not meant to stand in for medical care. That statement outranks every other line we print.
The seller's web page uses confident language about the leaf that we do not repeat, because it goes further than the research does. No clinician, panel or medical society has endorsed this page or this bottle.
None of our ads should be your health information. Forgetting a name now and then is common at any age, but tell your clinician promptly if you or your family notice getting lost in familiar places, trouble with everyday tasks you used to manage, repeating the same questions, changes in personality, or any sudden change in speech, vision or balance. Sudden changes need urgent care.
If you take anything that thins your blood, or anything daily at all, show the bottle to your pharmacist and tell your clinician before the first serving. If you avoid alcohol, or are expecting or nursing, this product is not for you without asking first.
Everything printed on the label, in the order printed, with what it is.
The fan-shaped leaf of the ginkgo tree, a species so ancient it is called a living fossil, planted along city streets across the world. Here it is the certified-organic leaf in a liquid extract as one of five herbs in a blend (cane alcohol and water in the Herb Pharm blend; vegetable glycerin and water in TinnaRex): a different thing from the standardized leaf extract (120 mg tablets and the like) used in the large trials, and from the homeopathic dilution found in some sprays.
Traditional and everyday use. Ginkgo leaf extract has been sold as a "memory herb" for decades.
What the research says. In the largest trial to date, 3,069 adults aged 72 to 96 took 120 mg of a standardized extract twice a day for a median of 6.1 years and declined at the same rate as the placebo group in memory, attention, language and every other domain measured.[1] The National Institutes of Health states there is no conclusive evidence that ginkgo is helpful for any health condition.[2] This product gives no ginkgo amount; the whole five-herb blend is 646 mg per 0.7 ml serving, and that figure is for the liquid extract, not for standardized leaf extract. On the ears: the largest trial of a standardized ginkgo extract in people with ringing in their ears (1,121 people, 12 weeks, 50 mg three times a day) found no difference from placebo, [3] a Cochrane review of four trials found no evidence it helps when the ringing is the main complaint, [4] the NIH says research suggests it is not helpful for that ringing, [5] and the 2014 guideline of the American ear, nose and throat academy recommends against ginkgo and other supplements for it. [6] TinnaRex prints no amount of ginkgo at all.
Amount per serving in Ginkgo Liquid Extract. 660 mg extract per 0.7 ml (140 mg herb, 1:5) (certified organic; a liquid extract of the leaf, not a standardized extract)
Good to know. Ginkgo may increase the risk of bleeding in people who take anything that thins the blood; fresh ginkgo seeds are toxic. Talk to your doctor before use if you take anything daily or are due for an operation.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not constitute medical advice and it should not be relied upon as such. This product is not a substitute for medication or other treatment prescribed by a physician or health care provider. Consult your doctor before starting any dietary supplement.
Honest people can't promise that, and the label's FDA statement says its claims have not been evaluated. The large trials of ginkgo extract found no difference from a placebo. Our column describes one composite reader who walked to a bench, practiced a list and went back to a weekly breakfast, and he could not say which one mattered.
No. The trials used a dried, standardized extract measured to a fixed recipe at 120 to 240 mg a day. This is a traditional liquid extract of the leaf, and the label gives no way to convert one into the other.
Ask your pharmacist and clinician first. The federal complementary-health center says ginkgo may increase the risk of bleeding in people taking anticoagulants.
Within 30 days, after calling for a return authorization number. One seller page says replacement or refund; another says replacement or credit. Ask which applies before ordering.
Herb Pharm, 5448 Bierson Way, Central Point, Oregon 97502. Orders 800-348-4372, information 541-846-6262, weekdays 7 to 4:30 Pacific; email info@herb-pharm.com.
This guide is part of the advertising page it links from. It exists because the ad that brought you here did not tell you the whole story.
If you remember nothing else: this is an alcohol-based liquid extract of one leaf with its amount printed, the large trials of ginkgo found nothing over placebo, it isn't for anyone on a blood thinner without asking, its two return pages disagree, and your clinician outranks all of us.