Thursday, March 28, 2024 | 21:23 WIB

Universitas Airlangga students win gold in China

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IO –  Four students from  have won a gold medal in the 10th Inter­national Exhibition (IEI) and the 3rd World Invention and Innovation Fo­rum (WIIF) 2018 in Foshan, China. The four students are Novia Tri Han­dika, Indriani Dwi Wulandari, Nurul Hidayati, and Neisya Pratiwindya Su­darsiwi.

In the event, which was attend­ed by 300 participants from various countries, the students also received a special award from Thailand. Under the guidance of Setho Hadiyusmana, a lecturer from the Nursing Faculty, the students were able to develop a therapeutic tea which could be used as alternative medication for those suffering from type 2 diabetes.

Novia, a member of the team, said that the idea started when the local community complained about the high cost of diabetes treatment. “I and the team were inspired to cre­ate an alternative medicine which was relatively cheap but safe,” Novia explained.

The students needed approxi­mately five months to create a pro­totype. They called their innovation Albedo Romin Tea. “We used wa­termelon epidermis which contains citrulline, a compound that lowers blood sugar levels,” said Novia.

Citrulline is a compound which helps the production of insulin which is needed to lower blood sug­ar levels. Adding rosella flower petals which contain flavonoid helps fight free radicals and assists the produc­tion of insulin by beta cells in the pancreas.

Contacted separately, Indri, an­other member of the team, stated that the first step in producing the tea was to clean the watermelon epi­dermis under running water. After, the epidermis was cut into pieces ap­proximately 3 cm and rewashed. The epidermis was then put into an oven for an hour. “We used an oven as our advisor told us if we left it in the sun, many compounds would be lost,” said Indri.

The epidermis was then ground up into a powder and mixed with small pieces of the rosella flower into the tea. “The tea consists of three ingre­dients: 50% watermelon epidermis, 30% rosella, and 20% jasmine, in a tea bag,” she said.

In the future, they would like to do a preclinical trial using mice to fur­ther understand the potential of their product. The students hope their product will pass the preclinical trial so it can be consumed by diabetes patients.

The students’ advisor, Setho Hadiyusmana, S.Kep., Ns., M.NS, said he was proud of their accomplishment. “Thank God, I want to say that this is not an individual achievement but a group achievement, as the Faculty of Nursing. They were smart students and were chosen since they started studying in UNAIR,” said Setho.

“As their advisor, I could only facil­itate their bright ideas and help put them together better to be presented on the international stage. Besides the students who have lifted the UN­AIR name, I would also like to thank the faculty and university leaders who have shared the opportunity for them to show their great competitive abilities,” he added. (Aldo)

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