UNAIR NEWS聽鈥 Another good news came from聽UNAIR聽students.聽They are Sulthan Fathi (FST ’19), Ardelia Bertha (FK ’19), Syadilla Rahmansyah (FKM ’19), Lidya Ayu (FKM ’20), Dennis Muhammad (FTMM ’20), and Bernika Citra (FISIP ’20) .聽The six of them won the gold medal in an international competition, Thailand Inventors Day, on February 1-6, 2023.
In the competition organized by the National Research Council of Thailand, they brought up an innovation entitled 鈥淏rem-D: Utilization of Durio Zibethinus Skin Waste as a Neutral-Stabilizer for Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) Addicts鈥.
Syadilla Rahmansyah, representing the team, said that their idea came from the traditional food of Madiun City, brem. 鈥淪o, the work or innovation we presented was alternative food innovation, brem, traditional food well known from the city of Madiun. The difference with the original from Madiun is how we use a mixture of flour with the durian skin, the mesocarp part,鈥 he explained.
Furthermore, the student often called Rama explained that the use of durian skin as a mixture of brem is beneficial as a serotonin bioregulator in the brain.聽With a combination of durian skin, he said, the brem they created could be an alternative to eliminating bad effects of聽Lysergic Acid Diethylamide聽(LSD) on health.
鈥淚n Southeast Asia, this type of LSD drug is on the rise. So, we take advantage of the durian skin content to increase serotonin levels in the brain, so it can reduce symptoms of depression, withdrawal, and other symptoms,鈥 he said.
Beside the enormous benefits of durian skin, Rama鈥檚 idea with the team was also based on concern for conditions in Indonesia. Instead of using natural pectin, Indonesia still imports tons of synthetic pectin.
鈥淯sually, brem uses synthetic pectin. Indonesia still imports as much as 100 tons of synthetic pectin per year, even though this pectin can be obtained from durian, which is truly abundant in Indonesia. From there, we try to take advantage of that potential, 鈥渆xplained Rama.
Even though they have made an outstanding achievement, Rama and the team do not want to feel complacent. He hopes their success will motivate them to make more achievements internationally.
鈥淗opefully, the results of this competition can motivate us to continue to grow and learn to be better. We are happy to have such experiences that we meet international people and see innovations from other countries,鈥 he said.
Author: Yulia Rohmawati
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
