According to a new research, Ginkgo biloba, which is a popular herbal products based remedy, does not prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers working on the largest prevention study in Europe found that taking ginkgo biloba did not prevent older adults from getting Alzheimer's disease. Earlier studies on animals had indicated that the popular herbal remedy might be helpful in fighting common form of dementia, but previous studies in humans have not been able to find any evidence of the effectiveness of the remedy against the disease.

French scientists studied the effects of ginkgo on more than 2,800 people over 70 with memory problems. About half of them received 240-mg dose while others received only dummy pills. The researchers studied the patients for five years including yearly cognitive tests.

Among those who were consuming ginkgo biloba, 61 people were diagnosed with likely Alzheimer's disease compared to 73 people in the other group. Experts say that the difference is not significantly large and thus it could have happened by coincidence. The study was funded by Ipsen, a producer of ginkgo biloba supplements.

Dr. Bruno Vellas of University Hospital in Toulouse, France, who is the lead author, said, "It may be that people need to take it for longer." The researchers did not find the reason why ginkgo biloba did not work in their study.

The latest study was published in the journal Lancet Neurology on Thursday.