Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2014 recorded that 24.5% of children in the world are stunted. Indonesia is the country with the fifth largest stunting prevalence with a prevalence of 36% (7,547 number of stunting children) in 2019.
Responding to these conditions, a number of students from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry Universitas Brawijaya (Fapet UB) develop innovative products from animal husbandry that can help solve problems in the health sector.
Under the guidance of Dr. Dedes Amertaningtyas, S.Pt., MP, a team consisting of Retno Nur Fadillah, Sularso, Yasri Rahmawati, Hendarto, and Zuhdan Alaik made Biskot. Biskots are Hong Kong caterpillar protein biscuits as a stunting treatment in children.
Sularso explained, the protein content in the Hong Kong caterpillar larvae is quite high, which are 47.44% with a fat content of 21.84%. As well as amino acids in the form of taurine amounting to 17.53% which is very much needed during the child development.
Taurine is the second most abundant type of amino acid in breast milk which functions as a neurotransmitter and plays an important role in the maturation process of brain cells.
“The Hong Kong caterpillar or also known as mealworm is usually cultivated only to be used as poultry feed because it has a high nutritional content. But actually this caterpillar is included in the coleoptera order which is the fourth order, meaning that it is most consumed by humans, “said Sularso.
In the process of processing the Hong Kong caterpillar is washed and dried then oven. Then it is mashed using a blender and filtered the water, then mixed into the dough from flour, sugar, and eggs.
The research they have done has won a silver medal in an international event entitled Asian Innovative Science Environmental and Entrepreneur Fair (AISEEF) 2021.
AISEEF is an annual international competition between Asian universities in the fields of science, environment and entrepreneurship.
There are four categories that are contested, namely entrepreneur (business plan, management, marketing), social science, environmental science (the interaction of physical, chemical, and environmental biological components and the relationship and effects of these components with organisms on the environment), and innovation science (innovation in the field of environmental). Applied Physics, Chemistry and Biology which can be in the form of application products, props and creative findings).
AISEEF was organized by the Indonesian Young Scientist Association (IYSA) on (18 / 2-22 / 2/2021)
This activity was carried out in collaboration with the Food Technology Department – Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB), Nutrition Department – Diponegoro University (UNDIP), Dian Nuswantoro University (UDINUS), Indonesia International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L), Indonesian Educator Achievement Foundation, Activists Association of Adiwiyata Indonesia Malang Raya, and AISEEF Organizing Committee. (DTA / Humas UB/ Trans. Iir).
