IPB Lecturers and Students Create Natural Lip Balm from Seaweed
Dry and cracked lips are a common problem for everyone. Most people usually use lip balm or to solve this problem. Lip balm contains antioxidants that can protect the lips from exposure to free radicals.
But currently, cosmetic lip balm products still use synthetic antioxidant compounds such as Butyl Hydroxy Toluene (BHT), kojic acid, and hydroquinone. The use of such materials is considered harmful and may have long-term effects for its users. Departing from that, Ryan Fachrozan, a student from the Department of Aquatic Product Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, Bogor Agricultural University (FPIK IPB) under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Ir. Nurjanah, MS and Dr. Asadatun Abdullah, SPi M.Si, MSM is encouraged to find a solution to this problem by trying to make lip balm derived from natural seaweed ingredients. The research title is "Characterization of Sargassum sp. Seaweed Porridge and Eucheuma cottonii as a Lip Balm Raw Material."
"We tried to make a lip balm that uses natural ingredients of seaweed. We use seaweed Sargassum sp. and Euchema cottonii. In addition to its abundant production in Indonesia, the antioxidant activity is also quite high," said Ryan.
Making cosmetics from natural ingredients usually use the preparation in the form of extracts of active ingredients. "This could affect the cost of production and the selling price of more expensive products. Not to mention there is still a chemical solvent residue left over from the extraction process," he said. "Therefore, we chose to use porridge preparations in our study. Porridge preparations tend to be safer, economical, environmentally friendly, zero waste, and easily applied by the community," he added.
The results of this study show the best lip balm formula that is with the ratio of seaweed grass Sargassum sp. and E. cottonii 1: 1. From the formula is generated high antioxidant activity of 576,41 ppm.
The pH value (acidity) of lip balm preparation in this study was in accordance with Indonesian National Standard (SNI) and pH of normal human skin balance. Seaweed grass Sargassum sp. and E. cottonii contain phytochemical compounds such as steroids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, and saponins. "The content of phytochemical compounds indicates that Sargassum sp. and E. cottonii have a potential as a raw material in making lip balm." Together with other seaweed products, natural lip balm has been traded and included in one of the products of PT. Rumah Rumput Laut. PT. Rumah Rumput Laut has recently also been invited to the "Big Circle Show" program on Metro TV. (RYS)
