IPB University Students Manage Hydrolyzate Protein Maggot as and Antidiabetes

Every year, diabetics in Indonesia increase by 40 percent. To decrease the number of diabetics, a hypoglycemic medicine that has no side effects and can be consumed by the patient is needed.

Therefore, three IPB University students managed for maggots to become the main source of antidiabetic medicine in the form of a hydrolyzate protein. Those three students were Imam Ali Alzaini Bychaqi, Muhammad Rifqi Janjani, (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine/FKH) and Cepty Rohmawaty (Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences/FMIPA). Maggots the larva of black soldier fly (hermetic illucens) which are part of the fly family.

Through the Student Creativity Program (PKM) and under the supervision of Prof. Drh. Tutik Wresdiyati, Ph. D, the three students then used the maggots as the base ingredient for creating the antidiabetic medicine. This is based on the previous research which reported that maggots are valued as a source of antibacterial activity.

Imam said that the research about maggots in the biomedical division is still very limited. To assure the biological ability of maggot hydrolyzate which are hypoglycemic, Imam and his team did test on the hypoglycemic activity on hyperglycemic lab mice.

During the tests, 35 hyperglycemic mice were used which were then divided into seven groups. Previously, the sugar levels on the lab mice were pre-measured to know their initial sugar levels by fasting for 10 hours. The maggot hydrolyzate tests were done with an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) on lab test animals.

“From the tests that were done, doses of 300 milligram/kilogram of the weight of the mice were potential to be made as antidiabetic candidates. However, the tests on the hyperglycemic mice are not enough. Further research must be done on the mice who have diabetic statuses. Further research is needed to ensure that the dose is positive in decreasing the sugar levels,” he said. (AVR)