Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible degenerative illness of the central nervous system with characteristic histological alterations, known as
amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Aggregation of plaques and tangles in the brain induces neurotoxicity and synaptic dysfunction, eventually contributing to neuronal cell death and neurodegeneration. Recent studies have revealed that
COVID-19 has a great impact on the development of AD, directly or indirectly, by facilitating the accumulation of
amyloid plaques, causing altered functional brain integrity or increasing the phosphorylation rate of
tau protein. As two important bioactive components of
Ginkgo biloba extract (GbE),
ginkgolides and
bilobalide (BB) have been reported to show
neuroprotective effects in AD via multiple mechanisms such as anti-excitotoxicity, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. Intriguingly,
ginkgolides and BB also seem to demonstrate
antiviral properties against
COVID-19 by inhibiting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main
protease. Herein, we review studies on the neuroprotective and
antiviral mechanisms of
ginkgolides and
bilobalide, as well as their therapeutic potential against AD and
COVID-19.