Complementary Medicine Journal of Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery

Introduction: Many women in menopause have changed that part of these changes cause by decreased blood flow which is secondary to decreased estrogen. These changes may result in decreased their sexual activity. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (GBE) on sexual activity in 50 – 60 years menopausal women.\ud Methods: In this Randomized placebo-controlled trial 80 healthy female volunteers aged 60 – 50 years, attending three health-care centers of Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), were enrolled. The participants provided written informed consent and then received GBE at a dose of 120–240 mg (n = 40) or placebo (n = 40) daily for 30 days. The instrument of this study was the Sabbatsberg Sexual Rating Scale (SSRS) which the part of it evaluate sexual activity before and after intervention. Finally, the results were analyzed by using Fisher exact test, Independent samples- t test and Mann-Whitney Test.\ud Result: 27 menopausal women (45.2 %) were in the 50 – 52 year group. Menopause age in the 29 women (45/9) was 50 years or more. After intervention, sexual activity had no significant difference between the two groups of Ginkgo biloba and placebo.\ud Conclusion: Despite the effectiveness of the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba in sexual desire in women, the results showed no effect on their sexual activity. With regard to the efficacy of many herbal supplements may appear after prolonged use, it is recommended that the next studies assess the effect of prolonged use of this plant.\ud \u