Don’t Gingko Biloba and Caffeine together work against each other, regarding blood flow to the brain?
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Both caffeine and ginkgo biloba are called “Nootropics” (cognitive enhancers), and both have been proven to affect the blood flow to the brain. However, caffeine acts as a “vasoconstrictor” reducing blood flow to the brain, while Ginkgo Biloba does the opposite by increasing cranial blood flow (I’m not sure if the change in blood flow to the brain is a contributing factor on cognition/memory for either, both, or neither of the drugs, but their respective affects are well documented.) The fact that the supplement industry has chosen to lump those two drugs together (along with a lot of other “smart drugs“) doesn’t necessary mean that there‘s good science behind it. So, is there an impartial, clinical study out there that investigates drug interactions of these two drugs taken together? To me, caffeine + ginkgo looks like the nootropc equivalent of a speedball.
[Please only respond if you're a biochemist or similar discipline, not just a fan or seller of drugs or supplements. Thanks.]
The main interaction I know of for gingko is that it may increase the effect of drugs that can cause bleeding such as any anti clotting medications. It does look like gingko and caffeine would have the opposite effects, so my thinking would be that they could work against each other when taken together. I would probably take them at least at different times of the day – caffeine in the morning and gingko at night. I think I would avoid any product that had both together.