Warnock said he often observes ginkgo biloba's tonic effect on sexual dysfunction indirectly. Instead, Warnock might prescribe the extract to help his patients think more clearly, or enhance their memory, or for circulatory conditions, allergies or depression. Only later do they happily discover, as did my lawyer buddy, sometimes dramatic improvement in their sexual performance. I tell my patients that it could be a matter of years before they feel its full effect. That makes perfectly good sense, because ginkgo enhances nitric oxide production, and that's one of the things that leads to an erection.
Nitric oxide is what's called a messenger.
It tells certain blood vessels they have to relax. That, by the way, would be an immediate effect of ginkgo. Now it goes without saying that if you have arterial disease of the leg, the arterial complex supplying the genitals is probably also involved. At least that's the experience at autopsy. Karch said a third major area where ginkgo has been shown to relieve sexual dysfunction is among men and women who take antidepressants, particularly so-called SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.