Tinospora crispa (L.) Hook.f. & Thomson

Brotowali (Tinospora crispa) is a liana that can climb up to 15 meters, of the Menispermaceae family, growing naturally in the Indo-China region, the Malay Peninsula, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Its intensely bitter stem makes it one of the most popular jamu ingredients in Southeast Asia. Traditionally, brotowali is used to stimulate appetite and relieve rheumatism, fever, and joint inflammation.

Brotowali favors open, hot locations (requiring plenty of sunlight), and can grow from lowlands to highlands up to 1,700 m above sea level, at temperatures of 20-28 °C, with rainfall of 1,500-3,000 mm/year.

• Roots taproot.
• Stem covered with soft, wart-like pseudo-thorns, climbing, watery, bitter-tasting.
• Leaves simple, heart-shaped, pointed tip, palmate venation, alternately arranged.
• Flowers compound, orange, borne on the stem, with three ovate sepals and six petals.
• Fruit formed in clusters, pink in color.

• Propagated generatively (by seed).
• Propagated vegetatively (by stem cuttings).
• Planting is done in a growing medium first until roots form.

Alkaloids, glycosides, picroretoside, resin, the bitter substance picroretin, tinocrisposide, berberine, palmatine, columbin, coculin or picrotoxin.

Stimulates appetite; treats rheumatism, arthritis, hip joint pain (sciatica), bruises, fever, yellow fever, sores, scabies, and wounds; analgesic, antipyretic, antihypertensive, antimalarial, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, tonic, antiperiodic; and treats hepatitis.

• Collect fresh brotowali stems.
• Wash and drain. Cut the stems into pieces.
• Dry in an oven at 40 °C until the moisture content is below 10%.
• Once dry, pack and vacuum-seal the stems to prevent mold.

Bratawali (Malay), Andawali (Sunda), Brotowali (Central Java), Antawali (Bali).