Slate’s Brendan “Indefatigable” Koerner takes a walk through the history of the over-the-counter supplement ginkgo biloba, once thought to be a nootropic capable of making even the bleariest-brained stoner into a sharp rememberer.

In 2002, a long-anticipated paper appeared in JAMA titled “Ginkgo for memory enhancement: a randomized controlled trial.” This Williams College study, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging rather than Schwabe, examined the effects of ginkgo consumption on healthy volunteers older than 60. The conclusion, now cited in the National Institutes of Health’s ginkgo fact sheet, said: “When taken following the manufacturer’s instructions, ginkgo provides no measurable benefit in memory or related cognitive function to adults with healthy cognitive function.”

Ginkgo Biloba? Forget About It. [Slate]

(Photo: Titanium 22)