Ginkgo biloba in the treatment of tinnitus: An updated literature review

Int Tinnitus J. 2017 Jun 1;21(1):58-62. doi: 10.5935/0946-5448.20170011. Mahmoudian-Sani MR1, Hashemzadeh-Chaleshtori M2, Asadi-Samani M3, Yang Q4. Author information 1 Research Center for Molecular Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. 2 Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. 3 Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, Iran. 4 Institute of Pharmacy and Molecular Biotechnology, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Abstract INTRODUCTION: Tinnitus is one of the common diseases of the ear that is associated with numerous physical and mental disorders. One of the known mechanisms in the tinnitus area with unknown reason is oxidative events. Based on the prevalence and economic costs and physical- psychological side effects caused by tinnitus and the importance of finding a suitable solution for its prevention and treatment, the need for further studies becomes more obvious in this context. This review article aimed to review studies on the effectiveness of Ginkgo biloba as a medicinal plant on patients with tinnitus. EVIDENCE ACQUISITIONS: Google Scholar, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), PubMed, LISTA (EBSCO) and Web of Science have been searched. RESULTS: There are many studies on the therapeutic effect of Ginkgo biloba on patients with tinnitus. Most findings are in contrast with each other so that some of studies reported that Ginkgo biloba is effective in the treatment of tinnitus and other studies referred to it as ineffective herbal medicine. Generally, according to the previous studies and the present study, it can mention that the Ginkgo biloba may somewhat improve tinnitus. CONCLUSION: Since tinnitus is multifactorial, it is recommended to evaluate patients individually based on the cause of tinnitus, treatment formulas, and different doses of Ginkgo biloba at the more extensive level in future studies. KEYWORDS: Ginkgo biloba; drug discovery; ear disorders; tinnitus PMID: 28723603 DOI: 10.5935/0946-5448.20170011