A Group of IPB Researchers Developed Hantap Leaves Extract for Jelly Drink as Functional Foods
Three researchers of the Department of Community Nutrition of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) namely Anggar Pamungkas, Ahmad Sulaeman and Katrin Rosita developed a functional food innovation in their research program on "Pengembangan Produk Minuman Jeli Esktrak Daun Hantap (Sterculia Oblongata R. Brown) sebagai Alternatif Pangan (Development of Extract Hantap leaves (Sterculia Oblongata R. Brown) Jelly as Alternative Food Productss)."
" Changes in agricultural practice over the past 50 years have increased the world's capacity to provide food for its people through increases in productivity, greater diversity of foods and less seasonal dependence. Food availability has also increased as a consequence of rising income levels and falling food prices. This has resulted in considerable changes in food consumption over the past 50 years. Raising awareness for the importance quality of life encourages the development of foods that are not only filling, but are also healthy (or at least, healthier than fast food and sweets!). These foods, also known as “functional foods,” are thought to provide benefits beyond basic nutrition and may play a role in reducing or minimizing the risk of certain diseases and other health conditions, "said Anggar Pamungkas.
Hantap leaves have the potential to be developed into a jelly drink. Jelly is a drink that has elastic properties as it contains gelatine, which can give your immune system a powerful boost and can keep skin youthful. In general, many people in certain areas in Indonesia take utilizing this plant leaf as one of traditional medicine by cutting, squeezing, filtering and drinking. Awareness of medicinal plants usage is a result of the many years of struggles against illnesses due to which man learned to pursue drugs in barks, seeds, fruit bodies, and other parts of the plants. They believe that the juice of foliage leaves can overcome problems such as internal heat, celiac sprue, to have a smooth and natural birth, and overcome flatulence.
Jelly drinks made of the hantap leaves, sugar, carrageenan, xantha gum, potassium citrate, and flavours were prepared with various formulations. The selected jelly drink formula was determined by preference test using semitrained panellists (product rating).
The research revealed that jelly drink with the addition of a gelling agent carrageenan with a concentration level of 0.20% and melon flavour was preferred by 86% panelist. This formula contained 87.37% water, 0.18% ash, 0.10% protein, 0.04% fat, 12.3% carbohidrate, 2.08% fiber, 10.6 mg/100g total phenols, 0.68 mg/100g vitamin C and antioxidant activity 20.92 % with IC50 values is 464.02μL.
The various types of formula in this jelly drinks that influence the panelist's judgment for the assessment of the jelly drinks were color, clarity, perfume, sweetness, and bitterness. However, they weren’t affected by aroma of hantap leaves, texture kulum, texture touch and after taste (feeling after drinking).
"With its bioactive component and fiber content, this product may be classified as functional food which may help improving consumer health. In addition, this jelly drink is expected to be an alternative drink that maintain the stability of the extract, because this drink has a gel consistency so it can avoid the deposition of the extract and will be easier to drink," he added. (Wied)
