BISRULA (Biskuit Rumput Laut) : Inovasi Terbaru Pemasaran Rumput Laut dalam Upaya Pencegahan Hipertensi pada Ibu Hamil di Kota Makassar

Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and child morbidity and mortality worldwide, especially in developing countries such as Indonesia. Pregnant women with insufficient iodine can trigger hypothyroidism and further preeclampsia. Seaweed contains essential Iodine for pregnant women and can be an alternative prevention of preeclampsia in pregnant women. This study aims to examine the effectiveness of the management and development of seaweed biscuits as the potential food to prevent hypertension in pregnant women. The current study was experimental study with pretest - posttest control group design. A total 14 samples were selected by purposive sampling method from all pregnant women in Tamalanrea sub-district as the population. The results showed that the effectiveness of management and provision of BISRULA has not been significant to reduce the blood pressure of pregnant women (p>0.05). This is due to only a few numbers of samples obtained in this study. It was difficult to find the appropriate sample based on the criteria and also because of the short duration of research so that it is difficult to prove the effectiveness of BISRULA. Furthermore, the measuring tool used has not detailed to examine the changes occurring in samples. Therefore, these findings can be suggestions for conducting further research in the future

Revealing Edible Bird Nest as Novel Functional Foods in Combating Metabolic Syndrome: Comprehensive In Silico, In Vitro, and In Vivo Studies

Metabolic dysfunction, which includes intra-abdominal adiposity, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension, manifests into metabolic syndrome and related diseases. Therefore, the discovery of new therapies in the fight against metabolic syndrome is very challenging. This study aims to reveal the existence of an edible bird nest (EBN) as a functional food candidate that may be a new alternative in fighting metabolic syndrome. The study included three approaches: in silico molecular docking simulation, in vitro, and in vivo in rats fed on cholesterol- and fat-enriched diets. Four terpenoids of Bakuchiol, Curculigosaponin A, Dehydrolindestrenolide, and 1-methyl-3-(1-methyl-ethyl)-benzene in EBN have been identified through LCMS/MS-QTOF. In molecular docking simulations, Bakuchiol and Dehydrolindestrenolide are considered very potent because they have higher inhibitory power on the four receptors (iNOS, ROS1 kinase, FTO, and lipase) than standard drugs. In vitro tests also provide insight into the antioxidant, antidiabetic, and antiobesity activities of EBN, which is quite feasible due to the smaller EC50 value of EBN compared to standard drugs. Interestingly, in vivo studies also showed significant improvements (p < 0.05) in the lipid profile, blood glucose, enzymatic levels, and inflammatory biomarkers in rats given high-dose dietary supplementation of EBN. More interestingly, high-dose dietary supplementation of EBN upregulates PGC-1α and downregulates HMG-CoA reductase. Comprehensively, it has been revealed that EBN can be novel functional foods for combating metabolic syndrome