What are the uses of the ginkgo tree? The latest detailed explanation of ginkgo tree uses
The ginkgo tree, also known as the white fruit tree, grows relatively slowly and has an extremely long lifespan. Under natural conditions, it takes more than twenty years from planting to bearing ginkgo fruit, and only after forty years can it produce a large amount of fruit. Therefore, it is also called the “grandfather-grandson tree,” carrying the meaning of “the grandfather plants and the grandson eats.” It is the old longevity star among trees, called “white fruit” in ancient times. The ginkgo tree has ornamental, economic, and medicinal value. The ginkgo tree is the oldest gymnosperm left over after the Quaternary glaciation, and is one of the most precious tree species in the world, so it is regarded as a “living fossil” in the plant kingdom.
Edible value
Ginkgo fruit, famously known as white fruit, is rich in nutrients, containing 2.16% crude fat, 62.4% starch, 5.2% sucrose, 1.1% reducing sugar, 0.26% nucleoprotein, 3% minerals, and 1.2% crude fiber. It also contains vitamin C 66.8~129.2mg/100g, vitamin E 6.17~8.05mg/100g, riboflavin, carotene, carotenoids, anthocyanins, and additionally contains 17 kinds of amino acids, ginkgol (10-nonacosanol), ginkgo ketone, octacosanol, B-sitosterol, stigmasterol, alkaloids, and more. Trace elements include Fe, Cu, Mn, Zn and major elements Ca, Mg, etc. It has very high edible value. Eating ginkgo fruit can inhibit bacteria and sterilize, relieve illness and cough, resist waterlogging and suppress insects, stop leukorrhea and turbidity, and lower serum cholesterol. However, it also contains slightly toxic substances: hydrocyanic acid, ginkgoic acid, hydrogenated ginkgoic acid, hydrogenated ginkgoic acid, ginkgol, ginkgol. Therefore, attention should be paid to the way ginkgo is eaten. If cooked before eating, ginkgoic acid and ginkgoic diacid can be decomposed, and hydrocyanic acid has a low boiling point and is easily volatilized and removed, so cooked ginkgo is less toxic. In order to prevent ginkgo poisoning, eating it cooked and eating it in small amounts is the fundamental method. The medical community believes that raw ginkgo should be controlled at about 10 pieces per day, and excessive consumption can cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, and convulsions. Some people like to steep ginkgo leaves in water and drink it, which carries a certain danger. Ginkgo leaves contain toxic components, and taking too large a dose or for too long a time can harm heart health.
Economic value
The ginkgo trunk is straight, and its wood is a high-grade material for making musical instruments and furniture. Ginkgo wood is of high quality and expensive, and has long been known as “silver fragrant wood” or “silver wood.” Ginkgo wood has a luster, straight grain, fine structure, is easy to process, does not warp or crack, has strong rot resistance, is easy to paint, has low nail-holding power, and has a special medicinal fragrance and strong insect resistance. Ginkgo wood can be used not only to make carved plaques and wooden fish and other handicrafts, but also to make high-grade furniture such as standing cabinets and desks. Ginkgo wood has resonance, sound conductivity and rich elasticity, making it an ideal material for making musical instruments. It can be used to make surveying and mapping instruments, pen holders and other cultural supplies, and is also a superior wood for making chessboards, chess pieces, sports equipment, seals and small handicrafts. In industrial production, silver wood is most suitable for making X-ray machine filter grids, textile printing and dyeing rollers, machine molds and wooden molds for bodiless lacquerware, plywood, chopping boards, wooden telephones, etc. The outer seed coat of ginkgo can be used to extract tannin extract. The seed contains hydrocyanic acid, histidine, protein, etc. The seed kernel is for eating, and eating too much causes poisoning. In traditional Chinese medicine, the seed and leaves can be used as medicine.