Dr. Rarastoeti Pratiwi, a lecturer at the UGM Faculty of Biology (Biology UGM), was officially appointed as a full professor on Thursday (Jun. 27). Professor Pratiwi is one of the 460 active full professors at UGM and one of the ten active full professors at Biology UGM.
In her inaugural speech, Professor Pratiwi emphasized the importance of developing biochemistry to support national health self-sufficiency. She stated that biochemistry can be a crucial strategy in understanding and meeting health needs, particularly regarding nutrition.
“Through biochemistry, we can study the beneficial and potential nutritional components that meet the population’s dietary needs,” Professor Pratiwi said during her speech at the UGM Senate Hall.
She explained that biochemistry studies the unique advantages of both unicellular and multicellular organisms, even in extreme conditions. These organisms’ capabilities are examined to understand the potential technologies and services that can be derived.
“The diversity of organisms is largely determined by their genetic material diversity, which affects the variety of proteins they possess,” Professor Pratiwi explained.
However, she noted that global climate change significantly impacts national food security and warned that it poses a serious threat, particularly to rice, a staple food in Indonesia vulnerable to climate change.
“Drastic or gradual environmental changes, such as global warming, pollution from organic and inorganic materials, and radiation, can affect the balance of molecular and cellular components,” she said.
Despite being high-calorie, rice’s nutritional value is lower than pigmented rice varieties such as red and black rice. These pigmented rice varieties contain more essential nutrients and bioactive compounds beneficial for health and are more resilient to climate change.
Countries like China, Japan, and India have utilized pigmented rice in various forms, such as flour, bran, and black rice oil, for functional food industries.
In contrast, the development of pigmented rice as a functional food in Indonesia is still limited to whole grains and red rice flour without technological processes. Pigmented rice has the potential to help reduce the prevalence of diabetes and obesity in Indonesia.
“Biochemistry plays a crucial role in identifying the nutritional contents and potential of other food ingredients as functional foods,” she added.
Besides the food sector, Professor Pratiwi emphasized that biochemistry also supports national health by developing medical tools, particularly chemotherapy treatments for cancer patients. Currently, chemotherapy remains the primary treatment option for cancer patients.
“Biochemistry can delve into the weaknesses of cancer cells, which other medical tools can address. The field of biochemistry is advancing rapidly and requires integration with other sciences to facilitate discoveries in health,” Professor Pratiwi concluded.
Author: Tasya
Editor: Gusti Grehenson
Photographer: Firsto