 Gac has been commonly used in its native countries, mainly as food and traditional medicine.Its use as medicine has been dated back to over 1200 years ago in China and Vietnam Gac seeds, known as "mù biē zǐ" (meaning 'wooden turtle seed'), are used for a variety of internal and topical purposes in traditional medicine.The aril surrounding gac seeds when the fruits are ripe is cooked with sticky rice to make “Xôi Gấc”, a traditional Vietnamese dish in red color served at weddings and New Year celebrations.