Best ginkgo biloba supplement

We checked every ginkgo capsule and stack we've audited, and these are the five things that matter most if you're choosing one.

• Look for 24% and 6% on the label

  Most of the trials used one extract, EGb 761, standardized to 24% flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones.¹¹¹⁶ No capsule we audited names EGb 761, but Life Extension, Himalaya, Ginkgold and Nature's Bounty print both figures, so they're standardized the way the studies' extract was.¹⁴

• Some of the cheapest capsules miss it

  Nutricost's 120 mg capsule is one of the cheapest we've audited, but it prints only the 24%. Bronson's prints 2% flavone glycosides, about 2.5 mg in a 125 mg serving, where a 120 mg capsule at 24% holds nearly 29 mg.²¹²²

• The studies started at 120 mg a day

  That's the lowest daily dose used in a study that showed a benefit.¹ Life Extension gets there in one capsule. Bronson takes two.¹⁷²²

• The clear wins were in people with dementia¹²³

  For a healthy memory the case is weak.⁸¹² GEM gave 120 mg twice a day to 3,069 adults aged 75 and over for about six years, and dementia was no less common than on placebo.⁴⁵ GuidAge followed 2,854 adults over 70 with memory complaints for five years and found no significant fall in Alzheimer's.⁶

• If your stack has ginkgo, check the label

  Nooceptin, BrainPill, NeuroQ and BrainMD's Brain & Body Power print both the 24% and the 6%. Qualia Mind and Neuro-Peak print the 24% alone, Thesis Neuroprotection gives only a brand name, and Hunter Focus, CogniMax, Brainol and Brainzyme print no standardization at all. Nooceptin, BrainPill, Brain Vitale and CogniMax also give 100 mg, 20 mg short of 120 mg, and Brainol gives 50 mg.¹

Life Extension's capsule gives 120 mg of an extract printed at 24% and 6%, the 120 mg floor in one capsule, for 11 cents a day, and it's the one we'd choose. Himalaya's and Nature's Bounty's capsules are the same strength, and Ginkgold needs two tablets to reach 120 mg. None of the four publishes a lab report.

We also audited Nutricost Ginkgo Biloba and Bronson Ginkgo Biloba and don't recommend them, because neither label shows the trial extract. Nutricost scores 5.0 out of 10 and Bronson 4.8.²¹²²

The table ranks the brain supplements we've audited that contain ginkgo by audit rating, with the amount and extract each one prints and what the formula costs for 120 mg of ginkgo.

The cost column scales each formula's full daily price to 120 mg of ginkgo, which is a fraction of a serving and not a dose to take, so it isn't what the ginkgo alone costs. Brainzyme's 240 mg is the weight of leaf its extract came from, not the extract itself, so it can't be set against the trials.

If ginkgo is why you're buying, Life Extension, Himalaya and Ginkgold reach 120 mg for 11 to 63 cents a day at their own sites, one capsule each for the first two and two tablets for Ginkgold.¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹ Nature's Bounty gets there in one capsule too, but it sells only through other stores, so there's no brand-site price to set beside them.²⁰ None of them publishes a lab report, and that's why all four stop at 8.0.

We wouldn't buy ginkgo for a healthy memory, because the trials it clearly won were in people with dementia. In older adults, the two longest trials found it didn't prevent dementia.¹²³⁴⁶

In Le Bars 1997, 309 outpatients with Alzheimer's or multi-infarct dementia took 120 mg a day for a year and scored 1.4 points better than placebo on a 70-point memory and thinking scale, although their doctors' overall ratings didn't differ.¹ Two later trials of 240 mg a day, each in 410 people with dementia and behavioral symptoms, found clearer gains over 24 weeks. The same researcher co-wrote both.²³

The healthy-adult trials are a split decision. One dose of 240 or 360 mg sped up attention in 20 young adults for a few hours, and 180 mg a day for six weeks helped some recall tasks in adults over 60. Solomon 2002 gave 120 mg a day to 230 adults over 60 for the same six weeks and found no difference on anything it measured, and a 2012 analysis that pooled the healthy-adult trials put the effect close to zero.⁷⁹⁸¹²

The Cochrane review of 36 trials, most of them EGb 761, called the evidence of benefit in dementia inconsistent and unreliable. It also found side effects no more common than on placebo.¹¹

Ginkgo extract comes from the leaves of the maidenhair tree. EGb 761, the trial extract, is made to a set strength in two groups of compounds, flavone glycosides at 24% and terpene lactones (the ginkgolides and bilobalide) at 6%. Labels vary in which figures they print. verifiedsupplementdata.com's July 2026 ranking counts Ginkgold as EGb 761, but that link rests on a 2003 drug profile, and the current label calls it a proprietary extract.^23161914

It suits you if you're older, have decided to try it anyway, and want the extract and amount the trials used, which means 120 to 240 mg a day at 24% and 6%. It doesn't suit you as a memory supplement when your memory is fine. That's what the healthy-adult trials and GEM tested, and they found little or nothing.

The EU's herbal monograph says ginkgo leaf extract shouldn't be used in pregnancy, that its use under 18 hasn't been established, and that people with a bleeding tendency who take blood thinners should only use it after talking to a doctor.¹³ For safety in full, the NIH's page on ginkgo covers bleeding and drug interactions.¹⁵

Here's what the trials gave, and how it maps onto capsules.

Study dose benchmark

120 mg a day

Doses in studies with a benefit

120 mg to 240 mg a day

Most-studied dose

240 mg a day of EGb 761, as one dose or 120 mg twice a day

Length of the trials that found a benefit

24 to 52 weeks in the dementia trials. Six weeks in one trial of healthy adults over 60, and hours after a single dose in young adults.

The lowest daily dose in a trial that beat placebo was 120 mg, in Le Bars 1997, and that's the amount we check labels against.¹ The later dementia trials gave 240 mg once a day, and both prevention trials gave 120 mg twice a day. The EU monograph's dose is 240 mg a day for at least eight weeks.²³⁴⁶¹³

Each of our picks gives 120 mg in one capsule, apart from Ginkgold, where it takes two tablets, so 240 mg is two capsules or four Ginkgold tablets. WebMD's supplement guide lists 80 mg twice a day or 40 mg three times a day, and the second is the schedule Solomon 2002 used in healthy over-60s, the trial that found nothing.²⁴⁸

No trial compared one daily dose with two. Health Insiders and Best for Nutrition say to take it in the morning for the sake of your sleep, and we found no trial behind that either.²⁵²⁶

Ginkgo has more large, well-run trials than most ingredients we grade, and they don't agree with each other.

ModerateTrials of one extract, EGb 761, found small gains in people with dementia. Two long trials in older adults found it didn't prevent dementia, and the healthy-adult trials split.

The trials in people with dementia or memory impairment all used EGb 761, or in Rai 1991 a 24% and 6% extract, and found small gains over placebo.¹⁰

The two long trials asked a different question, whether ginkgo keeps older adults from developing dementia, and neither found that it did. GEM was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and GuidAge by the drug company Ipsen.⁴⁶

In adults without memory problems, the single-dose trial and one six-week trial found something, and the other six-week trial found nothing.

Two reviews pull it together. Cochrane's, of 36 trials, found the dementia evidence inconsistent, and the 2012 meta-analysis of healthy adults found no effect on memory, attention or executive function, whatever the dose or the length of the trial.¹¹¹²

Ginkgo rarely sits alone in a stack. These are its usual neighbors, and what's known about each pairing.

• PhosphatidylserineModerateNext to ginkgo in Qualia Mind, Hunter Focus and BrainPill, among others. Two small trials of ginkgo bound to PS found memory gains, and the maker's staff co-wrote one.
• CiticolinePreliminaryNext to ginkgo in Nooceptin, Qualia Mind and Hunter Focus. No trial of the pair on its own.

Bacopa turns up next to ginkgo more often than anything else, in Nooceptin, Hunter Focus and most of the other stacks here. One four-week trial of ginkgo with bacopa found no effect in healthy adults.²⁷ Ginkgo bound to phosphatidylserine did better than ginkgo alone on memory in a single-dose trial, and a maker-backed product of the two improved recall over four weeks.²⁸²⁹ We found no trial of ginkgo with citicoline.

29 sources cited

1. Le Bars PL, et al. A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial of an extract of Ginkgo biloba for dementia. JAMA, 1997. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 9343463
2. Ihl R, et al. Efficacy and safety of a once-daily formulation of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in dementia with neuropsychiatric features. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry, 2011. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 21140383
3. Herrschaft H, et al. Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in dementia with neuropsychiatric features, a randomised, placebo-controlled trial to confirm the efficacy and safety of a daily dose of 240 mg. J Psychiatr Res, 2012. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 22459264
4. DeKosky ST, et al. Ginkgo biloba for prevention of dementia, a randomized controlled trial (GEM). JAMA, 2008. Abstract and full text read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 19017911
5. Snitz BE, et al. Ginkgo biloba for preventing cognitive decline in older adults, a randomized trial. JAMA, 2009. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 20040554
6. Vellas B, et al. Long-term use of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease (GuidAge), a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Lancet Neurol, 2012. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 22959217
7. Kennedy DO, et al. The dose-dependent cognitive effects of acute administration of Ginkgo biloba to healthy young volunteers. Psychopharmacology, 2000. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 11026748
8. Solomon PR, et al. Ginkgo for memory enhancement, a randomized controlled trial. JAMA, 2002. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 12186600
9. Mix JA, Crews WD. A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial of Ginkgo biloba extract EGb 761 in a sample of cognitively intact older adults. Hum Psychopharmacol, 2002. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 12404671
10. Rai GS, et al. A double-blind, placebo controlled study of Ginkgo biloba extract (Tanakan) in elderly outpatients with mild to moderate memory impairment. Curr Med Res Opin, 1991. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 2044394
11. Birks J, Grimley Evans J. Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2009. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 19160216
12. Laws KR, et al. Is Ginkgo biloba a cognitive enhancer in healthy individuals? A meta-analysis. Hum Psychopharmacol, 2012. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 23001963
13. European Medicines Agency. Ginkgo folium, EU herbal monograph and public summary. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. EMA
14. European Medicines Agency. Assessment report on Ginkgo biloba L., folium, including the pharmacopoeia's limits for the refined extract. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. EMA assessment report
15. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Ginkgo. Updated Feb 2025. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. NCCIH
16. EGb 761, ginkgo biloba extract (drug profile). Drugs R D, 2003. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 12757407
17. Life Extension. Ginkgo Biloba Certified Extract, product page, Supplement Facts label, price and returns policy. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. lifeextension.com
18. Himalaya. Ginkgo Biloba, product page, Supplement Facts label, price and refund policy. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. himalayausa.com
19. Nature's Way. Ginkgold, product page, Supplement Facts label, price and guarantee. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. naturesway.com
20. Nature's Bounty. Ginkgo Biloba 120 mg, product page, Supplement Facts and satisfaction guarantee. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. naturesbounty.com
21. Nutricost. Ginkgo Biloba 120 mg, product page, Supplement Facts label and price. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. nutricost.com
22. Bronson. Ginkgo Biloba, product page, Supplement Facts label and price. Accessed Oct 21, 2026. bronsonvitamins.com
23. verifiedsupplementdata.com. Best Ginkgo Biloba Supplement 2026, ranked by extract quality tier. Updated Jul 17, 2026. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. verifiedsupplementdata.com
24. WebMD. Ginkgo biloba, supplement guide (benefits, side effects and dosage). Reviewed Oct 23, 2025. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. webmd.com
25. Health Insiders. The 15 best ginkgo biloba supplements of 2026. Updated Oct 19, 2026. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. healthinsiders.com
26. Best for Nutrition. Top 8 ginkgo biloba supplements for brain health. Apr 19, 2025. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. bestfornutrition.com
27. Nathan PJ, et al. Effects of a combined extract of Ginkgo biloba and Bacopa monniera on cognitive function in healthy humans. Hum Psychopharmacol, 2004. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 14994318
28. Kennedy DO, et al. Acute cognitive effects of standardised Ginkgo biloba extract complexed with phosphatidylserine. Hum Psychopharmacol, 2007. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 17457961
29. Hawkins K, et al. Health benefits of a standardized Ginkgo biloba extract associated with phosphatidylserine in alleviating mental stress and cognitive performance, results from two exploratory randomized trials. Food Sci Nutr, 2026. Co-authored by staff of Indena, the extract's maker. Abstract read. Accessed Oct 22, 2026. PMID 42294065