ginkgoliden.
/ˈɡɪŋkəlʌɪd/, U.S. /ˈɡɪŋkəˌlaɪd/ Chemistry and Pharmacology.
Any of a group of bitter compounds present in the leaves and roots of the ginkgo tree, which are the active ingredients of the ginkgo extracts used in herbal medicine and have a variety of physiological effects.Ginkgolides are diterpene lactones with a hexacyclic structure, of which five are known, differing in the number and position of hydroxyl groups.
ΚΠ
1967 M. Maruyama et al. in Tetrahedron Lett. No. 4. 299 Careful separation and purification of the mixture of bitter compounds afforded four distinct ginkgolides all of which are C20 compounds.
1988 BioScience 38 367 Used in Chinese medicine for nearly 5000 years, ginkgo tree extracts, or ginkgolides, are prescribed for a variety of ailments, including circulatory problems, Alzheimer's disease, and asthma.
2002 Daily Tel. 18 Oct. 22/7 Ginkgo biloba improves blood flow through capillaries, and its ginkgolides also inhibit platelet aggregation (one of the first steps involved in clot formation).
2011 Neurol. Sci. 32 S198/2 Data regarding this small group of children with primary headache confirm that Gingkolide B seems to be effective as preventive treatment in reducing migraine attack frequency.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2017; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1967