Three students of UGM Vocational School’s Medical Record and Health Information have examined the content of Kitolod flower that has long been used as a herbal medicine to cure eye disorders.
Riska Annisa, Krida Tri Wahyuli, and Yulinda Fatmawati conducted research on the content of Kitolod flower under the guidance of Dian Budi Santoso, S.KM, M.P.H through the Student Creativity Program for Exact Sciences Research.
“The community has been using the Kitolod flower as a medication for eye irritation,” said Riska, Saturday (6/30).
The flower has been used by the community for generations. It is used to cure red and itchy eyes due to irritation and other causes. However, there is no research specifically aimed to identify the benefits of Kitolod flower for the eye.
The condition encouraged the three students to do a further research on the content of Kitolod flower. The result indicated that it contains ethanol.
Ethanol is widely known to bring an antibacterial activity against several pathogenic bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus mutans, and Vibrio sp.
The phytochemical analysis showed that the Kitolod flower contains ethanol compounds, consisting of 4.71% alkaloids, 39.80% tannins, 1.90% flavonoids., 35.14% saponins, and 1,21% steroids.
“Kitolod flower has the potential as a medication for eye irritation because it contains ethanol compounds,” she concluded.