Collaboration of Five PTMs, This UMM Lecturer Researches Alternative Medicine Raw Materials

Author : Humas | Saturday, February 12, 2022 02:23 WIB

apt. Dra. Uswatun Chasanah, M.Kes. became one of the initiators of water hyacinth and orange peel research. (Photo: Istimewa)

A good collaboration is carried out by five Muhammadiyah Universities (PTM). They are now trying to research the extraction of water hyacinth and orange peel for medicinal raw materials. One of the initiators is a Lecturer at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) apt. Dra. Uswatun Chasanah, M.Kes. The research proposal that he and his colleagues initiated successfully passed the funding stage organized by the Muhammadiyah Aisyiyah Pharmacy Higher Education Association (APTFMA). The selection of grants involved all Muhammadiyah and Aisyiyah Universities throughout Indonesia.

As she is affectionately known, Ina explained that the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry is still dependent on imports of medicinal raw materials from abroad. Approximately 90% of the raw materials for the manufacture of tablet drugs do not come from within the country. So, according to him, Indonesia needs to immediately develop materials that can become raw materials for making drugs.

"If the research on water hyacinth and orange peel get good results, these two ingredients can certainly make the prices of drugs cheaper. This is because the prices of the two medicinal raw materials are relatively low compared to imported materials from abroad," said the Lecturer who was born in Batu.

Furthermore, Ina also said that who chose water hyacinth and orange peel because they contain cellulose fiber and are high in antioxidants. Both can also have fast growth and are pretty easy to obtain. This advantage is considered to facilitate the process of making drugs both on a laboratory scale and on an industrial scale.

"Water hyacinth is known to have a high cellulose content, namely 60% cellulose, 8% hemicellulose, and 17% lignin. Meanwhile, orange peel contains 5.36% cellulose. With a fairly large percentage of cellulose, that can use these two natural ingredients for raw materials for pharmaceutical preparations," she said.

Besides UMM, this research was also initiated by four lecturers from different universities, namely Muhammadiyah University of Lamongan, Banjarmasin Muhammadiyah University, Bandung Muhammadiyah University, and Cirebon Muhammadiyah College of Pharmacy. Ina explained that the research had reached the stage of extracting orange peel and water hyacinth until now.

"I certainly hope that the research that we are trying to do can produce positive results. So that the Indonesian pharmaceutical industry can have other alternatives in drug raw materials, it also allows people to get medicines at relatively more affordable prices," she said. (apg/syi/wil)

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