Ampelocissus ascendiflora Latiff

Gegatan harimau jantan (Ampelocissus ascendiflora) is a climbing plant with a ridged stem from the Vitaceae family known only from Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore. Its flowers, fruit, and leaves make attractive decoration for gardens and pergolas. The dried, ground fruit of gegatan harimau jantan is used in Chinese remedies as a blood sugar-lowering treatment.

Gegatan harimau jantan grows terrestrially (primary rainforest, secondary rainforest, disturbed areas/open ground). This plant can grow in moist, well-drained soil, on fertile loamy soil types, and requires partial shade.

• Stem longitudinally ridged, up to 3 mm, often white tomentose when young, turning brown with age. Tendrils simple, each with a prominent ovate bract, resembling a stipule.
• Leaves spirally arranged and petiolate, blade rough, heart-shaped, 7-17 x 5.5-14 cm in size, with entire or toothed margins, upper leaf surface green, lower leaf surface white-tomentose when young, turning brown below and sparsely hairy above with age.
• Flowers branched, flower cluster consisting of spikes up to 16 cm long. Each spike has sessile flowers about 1 mm wide. Flower clusters develop opposite the leaves at the same node on the stem, the flowers have a red calyx and a yellow disc.
• Fruit 2-seeded, round shaped (a berry) about 8 mm in size.
• Seeds about 7 × 6 mm in size.

Gegatan harimau jantan can be propagated from stem cuttings or seed.

Information not found. Further research is needed.

Lowers blood sugar levels/reduces glucose production in the body.

• Prepare gegatan harimau jantan fruit, wash clean with running water then drain.
• Dry under the sun or with an oven at 40°C until the moisture content reaches 10%.
• Grind using a blender until it becomes powder.
• Store in a clean, airtight container.

Gaka telahat.