Four students from the Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Brawijaya University, Rangga Priambudi, Lisa Andriani Setianingrum, Nadhif Muhammad Tauhid Sirajuddin and Nurfadhilah Fatikhasari together with supervisor Dr. Abdul Manab, S.Pt., MP researched the prevention of tooth decay by applying healthy gummy xylitol based on edible film. This research took part in the 2023 Student Creativity Program (PKM) Exact Research at Brawijaya University.
Dental caries or cavities is a disease that is often found in the oral cavity which is triggered by consuming cariogenic foods. Cariogenic foods are sweet foods that contain lots of sugar and sucrose.
Nowadays there are many types of cariogenic foods that are sweet, soft and stick easily to teeth, such as candy and chocolate, which are sold in various shapes and colors and are liked by children. This triggers the growth of bacteria that damage teeth.
“Innovation needs to be done to prevent tooth decay in children as a result of consuming cariogenic foods,” said Rangga.
Healthy gummy xylitol based on edible film is an effort that can be made to prevent tooth decay because xylitol is a sugar alcohol that occurs naturally in nature. Xylitol has the ability to not be fermented by cariogenic bacteria, so it can reduce the number of bacteria in the teeth and speed up the process of tooth mineral formation or remineralization.
Apart from xylitol, healthy gummy xylitol requires antioxidant compounds and coloring, one of which is betacyanin from red dragon fruit peel. The development of betacyanin and xylitol as antimicrobials, especially for Streptococcus mutans, requires a delivery system in the form of edible film. Edible film containing xylitol as a delivery system is capable of releasing xylitol gradually which functions as an anti-Streptococcus mutans and acts as an inhibitor of mass transfer, such as water vapor, oxygen, fat or dissolved substances, so it has the potential to maintain the shelf life and quality of food without changing aroma, taste, texture and appearance.
One of the ingredients for making edible film which acts as a delivery system is gelatin. Gelatin is a substance that comes from protein. Gelatin has water-soluble properties and is able to form a gel, capable of forming a thin, elastic layer, making the packaging transparent and strong. Therefore, xylitol combined with gelatin is expected to produce healthy gummy xylitol based on edible film which has anti Streptococcus mutans activity with the characteristics of being supple, elastic, not easily torn and resistant to high levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide so that it can maintain the quality and shelf life of the packaged product.
This team’s research focuses on determining the effect of edible film-based healthy gummy xylitol on preventing tooth decay in terms of the physicochemical properties and activity of Streptococcus mutans bacteria. The research team often shares the excitement of their research via their Instagram social media account, namely @pkmre.healthygummy, starting from the research preparation process, educational content, research materials and locations to the research process.
This research is expected to increase information and knowledge in the field of Animal Products Technology (THT) regarding the use of xylitol in making edible film-based healthy gummy which is rich in benefits as a solution to tooth decay that occurs due to excessive candy consumption. [team/sitirahma/ UB PR/Trans. Iir]
