Abstract

Ginkgo biloba L., a native of China, enjoys unrivaled fame in the plant world, owing to its multipurpose characters. Ginkgo leave extract contains high levels of flavone glycosides and terpene lactones, which are widely used in orthodox or traditional medicine to treat diseases. However, there are few good Ginkgo varieties for leaf application to date. In this study, we collected fifteen core Ginkgo resources including the variety “Anlu 1” from different locations in China. Through ⁶⁰Co-γ-ray irradiation of “Anlu 1”, a variety named as “ZY 1” with good properties was cultivated. Field test assays showed that “ZY 1” has obvious advantages compared with “Anlu 1” (control). “ZY 1” grows faster and has no branches but higher leaf yield. More importantly, its leaf extracts contain higher flavonoids and terpenoids contents but lower undesired components such as ginkgolic acids. These results indicated that the variety “ZY 1” may have a high value of leaf application for clinical medicine, health care products and cosmetic.

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