Aw, man, you got ginkgo biloba'ed?

For at least a century, people have been told that smart pills really don't make you smarter. Now the thesis is being tested in federal court in San Diego. A case originally filed in San Francisco federal court on December 15 was moved to San Diego this week.

Tatiana Korolshteyn is suing Costco Wholesale Corp. in a putative class action measure. She says that on October 29 of last year at a Costco store in Redwood City, she paid $14.69 for a bottle of TruNature Ginkgo Biloba with Vinpocetine, which is manufactured and marketed by Costco.

She complains that a nationwide marketing campaign, and words on each bottle, indicate TruNature Ginkgo "supports alertness and memory." The side of each label claims, "Ginkgo Biloba can help with mental clarity and memory," and "it also helps maintain healthy blood flow to the brain to assist mental clarity and memory, especially occasional mild memory problems associated with aging."

But, says the suit, "The clear weight of the credible scientific evidence and the consensus in the scientific community among experts in the field, based on numerous well-controlled clinical studies, is that ginkgo biloba and vinpocetine supplementation does not provide any mental clarity, memory, or mental alertness benefits."

Such claims are "false, misleading, and reasonably likely to deceive the public," according to the suit.