The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Indonesia reaches 8.5% of the total population and is ranked fifth in the world with 19.5 million sufferers. The trigger factor is obesity due to excess calories which result in insulin resistance. As well as the diet of the Indonesian people who depend on rice with high sugar content.
This attracts the attention of students of the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Universitas Brawijaya (Fapet UB) to create food innovations to prevent and control diabetes mellitus. Prevention of diabetes mellitus is carried out by making healthy cereal based on fortified guava, tapioca flour, and cinnamon sauce. The product called Seregal was made by Rafi Safanda Nugraha (Fapet UB), Irma Widi Astuti (Fapet UB), Hilma Sajida Chulwa Hanin (Fapet UB), M. Yoshi (Fact of Mathematics and Natural Sciences UB), and Ruzaina Darmawati (Filkom UB).
According to Irma, guava contains five times higher vitamin C than oranges, which is as much as 377 mg. So that seregal can help prevent diabetes mellitus, because it contains pectin which is hypocholesterolemic which can lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels. In addition, cereal can also be used as a food to delay hunger because of its high carbohydrate content with low amylose and high amylopectin levels.
“The content of tapioca starch in cereals can help increase body weight, stabilize blood pressure, treat stomach acid, be healthy for the digestive system and maintain bone health,” she explained.
Meanwhile, for patients who have contracted this disease, it can be controlled by consuming purple analog noodles. Namely noodles made from porang flour (amorphophallus muelleri) and fortified genjer leaves which are low in calories and high in fiber because they contain glucomannan, flavonoids, polyphenols and cardenolin. These substances have antidiabetic and antioxidant properties so they can be used to control diabetes mellitus.
Purple analog noodles were created by a collaboration of UB and Gadjah Mada University (UGM) students, namely Irma Widi Astuti (Fapet UB) and Romi AL Fajar (Geodesic Engineering, UGM).
“This noodle is expected to be a functional food for controlling diabetes mellitus and obesity and a contributor to the food sector towards a better Indonesia,” said Irma
The two works won awards at the 2023 National Essay Contest (LETIN) organized by the Young Nusantara Institute in collaboration with Triatma Mulya University, Bali, Saturday (3/6/2023). The purple analog noodle team won a silver medal while the seregal team won a bronze medal.
In the event that accommodates students with high creativity to channel their innovations in supporting advanced Indonesia, UB delegation won the general champion with a total of 13 champions from all fields. UB sent seven groups from various faculties, such as the Faculty of Agriculture, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences, and Fapet. (dta/Humas UB/ Trans. Iir)
