The habit of consuming oily and fatty foods can increase the risk of cholesterol accumulation, leading to dangerous diseases such as heart disease and stroke.
According to the 2023 Indonesian Health Survey and the 2018 Basic Health Research, the frequency of fatty food consumption among Indonesians significantly increased from 41.7% to 50.4%, with a rise in the prevalence of high total cholesterol.
To address this issue, students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) have developed a combination of Rosella extract and black rice bran as potential cholesterol-lowering agents. This extract mixture is formulated into a powder form, making it easy for the public to consume.
This research was proposed under the UGM Student Creativity Program in Exact Science Research (PKM-RE) and received funding from the Indonesian Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
The team consists of Anggi Abdillah Surya Amni, Khoirun Nafisah (Chemistry, 2022), Anes Arjuni, Luna Azahara (Food Technology and Agricultural Products, 2022), and Rani Mutiara (Medicine, 2023).
Dr. Wahyu Dwi Saputra, a lecturer at the Department of Food Technology and Agricultural Products, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, UGM, supervises the research.
Anggi Abdillah Surya Amni explained that the research was motivated by the high health risks cholesterol poses to the community. They aimed to offer an accessible solution to all layers of society.
“We want to find a natural and easily accessible solution for the community to address this issue,” Amni said in a statement on Tuesday (Jul. 30).
Amni revealed that current trends show an increasing interest in healthy lifestyles, prompting many to switch to black rice. Milling this rice produces bran with cholesterol-binding properties that have yet to be optimally utilized.
“This motivated us to innovate by utilizing black rice bran mixed with rosella flower extract,” Amni explained.
Khoirun Nafisah, a team member, added that black rice bran contains more bioactive compounds than red or white rice. Bran contains secondary metabolites such as carotenoids, phenolics, tannins, saponins, alkaloids, and flavonoids.
Meanwhile, rosella has potential as a cholesterol binder, antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antihypertensive due to its phytochemical components, such as polyphenols, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, and tannins.
“We chose black rice bran for its high bioactive compound content. Combined with rosella extract, we hope to create an effective formula for lowering cholesterol,” Nafisah explained.
Anes Arjuni described the formulation process for each extract and the mixture of rosella and bran extracts in various ratios. They conducted bioactive compound analysis, cholesterol level reduction, and physicochemical properties tests on the samples.
The results showed that the rosella and black rice bran extracts could reduce cholesterol levels by 68.39±0.26%. Based on physicochemical property tests, they have high total anthocyanin, phenolic, and flavonoid content and good powder quality.
“Our research results show great potential in lowering cholesterol with natural ingredients,” Arjuni explained.
Luna Azahara sees this discovery as a significant opportunity to utilize natural ingredients to address high cholesterol issues. With the easily consumable powder formulation, further research and development of this powdered drink product are expected.
“With innovation and collaboration, we hope this discovery can positively impact the health of the Indonesian community,” Azahara said.
Although this is initial research, Rani Mutiara, another team member, hopes it becomes a solution for health problems by utilizing natural resources around the home.
“We are proud to contribute to this research. We hope our findings can be developed and benefit the broader community,” Mutiara concluded.
Author: Agung Nugroho
Editor: Gusti Grehenson