Can You Take Lion’s Mane and Ginkgo Biloba Together?

No established evidence suggests that taking lion’s mane mushroom and ginkgo biloba together is dangerous, and one animal study has directly tested the combination with promising results. The two supplements work through different biological pathways, which is partly why the nootropic community pairs them so often. That said, “no evidence of harm” is not the same as “proven safe,” and there are specific situations where caution makes sense.

How They Work Through Different Pathways

One reason these two supplements get paired is that they target the brain from different angles. Lion’s mane contains compounds called erinacines and hericenones that stimulate the production of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), two proteins the brain uses to grow and maintain nerve cells.¹ Think of lion’s mane as working on the structural side: helping the brain build and repair neural connections.

Ginkgo biloba operates more like a circulatory and antioxidant aid. Its active terpene compounds, ginkgolides and bilobalide, have been studied for their ability to improve blood flow to the brain. In a pilot study using MRI-based perfusion imaging, cerebral blood flow in both white and gray matter was measurably higher after ginkgo supplementation compared to baseline.² Ginkgo also has well-documented antioxidant properties, which may help protect neurons from oxidative damage.³

A 2025 narrative review positioned ginkgolides alongside lion’s mane within a broader framework of brain-support compounds, noting that lion’s mane fosters neurotrophy through NGF and BDNF production, while ginkgolides contribute to mitochondrial resilience and help mitigate the toxic proteins associated with neurodegeneration.⁴ The fact that they act on different biological targets is the theoretical basis for combining them: if one is helping build neurons and the other is helping feed them with blood and protecting them from damage, the logic of the pairing at least holds up on paper.

The One Study That Actually Tested the Combination

Most supplement stacks are based on “seems like it should work” reasoning rather than direct testing. The lion’s mane and ginkgo pairing is a partial exception. A 2022 study published in Hindawi tested a mixture of ginkgo biloba leaf extract and lion’s mane fruit extract in mice with chemically induced memory impairment. The combination reduced neuronal cell death, promoted neuronal survival by activating BDNF signaling, and significantly restored cognitive deficits on behavioral tests including a Y-maze and a novel object recognition task. The mixture also enhanced cholinergic system function in the mouse brain and upregulated proteins in the ERK-CREB-BDNF signaling pathway.⁵

That is genuinely encouraging, but keep the limitations in perspective. It was a mouse study using a drug-induced model of cognitive impairment, not a human trial. The dose was given orally at 240 mg/kg of body weight, which does not translate neatly to what a person might take. And the memory impairment was artificially created with scopolamine, which blocks a specific neurotransmitter system, so the results may partly reflect the combination’s ability to counteract that particular blockade rather than enhance normal cognition. No human clinical trial has specifically tested lion’s mane plus ginkgo together in healthy or cognitively impaired people.

What Each One Does for Cognition on Its Own

Lion’s mane has a small but growing body of human evidence. A double-blind pilot study in young adults found that those who took lion’s mane performed significantly faster on a cognitive task measuring reaction time and attention about an hour after a single dose. The lion’s mane group’s average reaction time dropped from about 738 milliseconds to 688 milliseconds, while the placebo group showed no comparable improvement.⁶ That is one small study in healthy young people, so it is far from settled science, but it suggests something real is happening.

Ginkgo’s cognitive evidence is more extensive but also more mixed. A review of randomized trials concluded that standardized ginkgo extract may improve cognitive function in people with mild dementia when taken at around 240 mg per day for at least 24 weeks.⁷ However, a large randomized trial in older adults without dementia found that ginkgo did not slow the rate of cognitive decline compared to placebo across multiple domains including memory, attention, language, and executive function.⁸

The picture that emerges is that ginkgo may help people who already have some cognitive impairment but does not appear to prevent decline in healthy older adults. Lion’s mane shows some acute cognitive benefits, but the evidence base is still thin. Whether combining the two produces effects that either alone cannot is genuinely unknown in humans.

The Bleeding Worry and Whether It Holds Up

The most common safety concern people raise about this combination involves bleeding. Ginkgo has a longstanding reputation for thinning the blood, which makes some people nervous about adding another supplement on top. But the evidence behind ginkgo’s bleeding risk is weaker than most people assume.

A systematic review of controlled clinical studies and case reports found that ginkgo does not significantly affect hemostasis (the body’s blood-clotting system) and does not adversely affect the safety of commonly used blood thinners like aspirin or warfarin. The authors concluded that the “serious health risk” framing around ginkgo and anticoagulant drugs is largely unsupported by the available evidence.⁹ A separate laboratory study offered a mechanistic explanation for why the concern is probably overstated: the concentrations of ginkgolides needed to inhibit platelet aggregation were more than 100 times higher than the peak blood levels measured after taking standard ginkgo doses of 120 to 240 mg.¹⁰

On the lion’s mane side, the bleeding concern is even less grounded. An in vitro study screening eight edible mushroom species, including lion’s mane, found that none of the mushroom extracts altered standard coagulation parameters like prothrombin time or International Normalized Ratio.¹¹ So neither supplement has strong evidence for meaningful anticoagulant effects at normal doses, and combining the two does not create a known additive bleeding risk.

That said, individual case reports of bleeding events associated with ginkgo do exist, even if controlled studies have not confirmed a causal link. If you are already taking a prescription anticoagulant or antiplatelet drug, mention both supplements to your prescriber. The risk may be theoretical, but it is not one you want to test without medical oversight.

Surgery and Medication Timing

Even though the bleeding evidence is reassuring for everyday use, surgery is a different situation. Guidelines from the Society for Perioperative Assessment and Quality Improvement recommend stopping ginkgo at least two weeks before elective surgery, along with a long list of other herbal supplements.¹² The American Society of Anesthesiologists and the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists similarly recommend stopping herbal medications one to two weeks before elective procedures, citing potential interactions with anesthetic drugs across the coagulation, cardiovascular, and central nervous systems.¹³

These guidelines apply to ginkgo specifically, and they cast a wide net over herbal supplements in general. Lion’s mane is not individually named in most surgical guidelines, largely because it has not generated the same volume of case reports. But the prudent move is to stop both supplements well before any planned procedure. Anesthesiologists prefer to work with a clean metabolic slate, and the pharmacokinetics of supplement ingredients are not always well characterized.

Ginkgo’s Pharmacokinetics and Why Formulation Matters

If you do take both supplements, how you take them matters more than most people realize, at least for the ginkgo side. Ginkgo’s active terpene compounds have relatively short half-lives. In a human study comparing dosing schedules, taking 40 mg of ginkgo extract twice daily produced a significantly longer half-life and longer mean residence time in the blood compared to taking 80 mg once daily, even though the single larger dose produced a higher peak concentration. Peak blood levels were reached about 2.3 hours after ingestion regardless of dose.¹⁴

The form of ginkgo product you choose also makes a large difference. A study comparing three different ginkgo preparations in humans found dramatic variation in the blood levels of the key compounds. The standardized pharmaceutical extract (EGb 761) produced peak plasma concentrations of bilobalide, ginkgolide A, and ginkgolide B that were roughly three to seven times higher than a tincture preparation.¹⁵ Most of the positive clinical research on ginkgo has used EGb 761 or similarly standardized extracts, so a random ginkgo product from a discount shelf may contain the same plant but deliver far less of the bioactive compounds to your bloodstream.

Lion’s mane pharmacokinetics are less thoroughly mapped in humans. The active compounds (erinacines in particular come from the mycelium, while hericenones come from the fruiting body) have different profiles, and whether a product uses mycelium, fruiting body, or both affects what you are actually ingesting. There is no standardized extract for lion’s mane equivalent to EGb 761 for ginkgo, which makes product quality harder to evaluate.

The Adulteration Problem

Ginkgo biloba supplements have a well-documented adulteration problem. Because of the plant’s popularity and economic value, ginkgo products have become a target for economically motivated fraud. Investigations have repeatedly found poor-quality ginkgo products adulterated with added flavonols, flavonol glycosides, or extracts from other, cheaper plants.¹⁶ These adulterants can make a product pass basic quality tests while containing little or none of the terpene lactones that actually produce ginkgo’s effects. If you are taking ginkgo and noticing nothing, the product itself may be the problem before the compound is.

Lion’s mane supplements have their own quality issues, though they are different in nature. The main distinction is between products made from the fruiting body (the part that looks like a shaggy white mushroom) and those made from mycelium grown on grain. Mycelium-on-grain products can contain a significant proportion of starch from the growing substrate, diluting the concentration of the active compounds. Neither form is inherently bad, but they contain different ratios of the bioactive compounds, and most human studies specify which part of the mushroom was used.

When combining any two supplements, you are doubling your exposure to the quality-control risks of the supplement industry. Choosing products from manufacturers that provide third-party testing certificates and that specify the part of the organism used (for lion’s mane) or the standardization percentage (for ginkgo, look for 24% flavone glycosides and 6% terpene lactones, the standard profile for EGb 761-type extracts) can reduce the odds of buying expensive placebos.

A Combination Supplement for Stress and Mood

Beyond cognition, there is some interest in whether lion’s mane and ginkgo together affect mood and stress. One study tested a commercial supplement called “Mind Focus” that contained both lion’s mane and ginkgo along with other ingredients in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress. The supplement improved measures of anhedonia (inability to feel pleasure), anxiety-like behavior, and behavioral despair, along with reducing markers of neuroinflammation.¹⁷

The obvious caveat is that this was a multi-ingredient formula tested in rats, so you cannot isolate the contribution of lion’s mane and ginkgo from the other ingredients or assume the same effects in humans. Still, it represents another data point suggesting the combination is at least safe in a living organism and potentially beneficial for stress-related outcomes. The lion’s mane pilot study in young adults mentioned earlier also looked at stress and mood outcomes alongside cognition, which reflects a broader trend of investigating these supplements for mental well-being, not just raw cognitive performance.

Who Is Actually Taking These Supplements

A survey of U.S. resident physicians found that lion’s mane was among the more commonly used cognitive supplements in that population, with an estimated prevalence of about 5%, trailing only caffeine, omega-3 fatty acids, and creatine. Ginkgo biloba was used by a smaller proportion, roughly 2%.¹⁸ These are people with medical training making supplement choices for themselves, and the fact that lion’s mane outpaced ginkgo among this group may reflect the trend of newer supplements gaining ground over older ones whose evidence has turned out to be more mixed than initially hoped.

The demographic most likely to be interested in this combination spans younger adults looking for a cognitive edge and older adults concerned about age-related decline. For the younger group, the acute cognitive effects of lion’s mane may be the main draw, with ginkgo’s blood flow benefits as a complement. For older adults, ginkgo’s evidence in mild cognitive impairment combined with lion’s mane’s neurotrophic effects creates a more plausible rationale, though the evidence remains preliminary for both groups. Neither supplement is approved for the treatment of any disease, and neither should replace evidence-based medical treatment for diagnosed cognitive conditions.

Practical Timing and Dosing Considerations

Since no human clinical trial has tested the combination at specific doses, anyone combining them is working from the individual dosing literature. For ginkgo, the most-studied dose is 240 mg per day of standardized extract, and the pharmacokinetic data suggest splitting that into two doses maintains more consistent blood levels than taking it all at once.¹⁴ For lion’s mane, human studies have used a range of doses, typically between 500 mg and 3,000 mg per day, depending on whether the product is a concentrated extract or dried mushroom powder.

There is no pharmacokinetic reason to separate the two supplements by hours. They are metabolized through different pathways and do not compete for the same enzymes in any documented way. Some people prefer to take lion’s mane in the morning (anecdotally, it can feel mildly stimulating) and ginkgo split between morning and afternoon, but this is personal preference rather than evidence-based timing. The most important practical consideration is consistency: the cognitive benefits seen in studies of both supplements emerged over weeks of regular use, not from occasional dosing. Starting one at a time rather than both simultaneously also makes it easier to identify which supplement is responsible if you experience side effects like digestive upset, which is the most commonly reported complaint for both.