Herbal products and food supplements consumption and belief during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study in Java Island, Indonesia

The popularity of herbal products in Indonesia during the COVID-19 pandemic has risen recently. It is believed to be preventive measures to lower the probability of COVID-19 infection and boost immunity. This study explored the knowledge of the Java Island population about COVID-19 and their belief about herbal products and supplements consumption for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. A total of 485 respondents participated in this research. About 84.7% (n = 411) of the participants claimed that they had used herbal products or supplements before the pandemic. Recommendations from friends or relatives (51.1%, n = 248) were the main reason for the respondents to consume herbal products or supplements. Multivitamins (19.6%, n = 95) were the most commonly chosen supplement to increase immunity and reduce the chance of COVID-19 infection. The governments are suggested to provide more evidence-based campaigns to increase population awareness about the use of herbal products and supplements to ensure patient safety

Karakteristik Teh Herbal Daun Kalistemon (Melaleuca viminalis) Berdasarkan Variasi Suhu dan Waktu Pengeringan

Tea is one of the beverages that widely recognized by people in the world. The use of callistemon or commonly known as weeping bottlebrush leaves (Melaleuca viminalis) as herbal tea is a new innovation. Callistemon leaves have functional properties as antioxidants, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-platelet aggregation. The availability of callistemon leaves is quite abundant. The process of callistemon leaves herbal tea using the drying method can affect the quality characteristics. This study has purpose to determine the effect of drying temperature and drying time variation on the quality characteristics of callistemon leaves herbal tea in the form of yield, moisture content, ash content, total phenolic, and antioxidant activity. The research method used was a completely randomized design (CRD) with two factors, namely the drying temperature (50 and 60⁰C) at three levels of drying time, namely 5, 6, and 7 hours. The results showed that the interaction between drying temperature and drying time had a significant effect (P0,01) on the quality characteristics of yield, water content, total phenolic and antioxidant activity of callistemon leaves herbal tea. Meanwhile, the ash content had no significant difference. The best result was obtained from drying treatment at 60 ° C for 7 hours with the characteristics of yield 46.26 ± 1.00%, the water content quality of 6.96 ± 0.62%, ash content of 7.00 ± 0.43%, total phenolic 6.20 ± 0.44 mg AGE/g berat kering matter and antioxidant activity 94.00 ± 0.11%

Ulasan Ilmiah : Antosianin dan Manfaatnya untuk Kesehatan

Antosianin merupakan senyawa turunan polifenol yang keberadaannya sangat melimpah di alam dengan keanekaragaman dalam berbagai jenis tumbuhan. Antosianin merupakan kelompok pigmen larut air pada tanaman yang paling banyak ditemukan disamping klorofil. Senyawa ini adalah komponen alami yang terakumulasi pada vakuola dan  bertanggungjawab untuk warna merah, biru dan ungu pada buah, sayur, bunga dan tumbuhan lainnya. Antosianin disusun dari sebuah aglikon (antosianidin) yang teresterifikasi dengan satu atau lebih gugus gula (glikon). Terdapat sekitar 700 jenis antosianin yang telah diekstrak dari tanaman. Perbedaan utama dari berbagai jenis antosianin adala pada jumlah gugus hidroksil dan gugus gula yang terikat pada struktur molekul ataupun posisi dari ikatannya. Antosianin memiliki berbagai manfaat untuk kesehatan tubuh diantaranya adalah sebagai antioksidan, pencegah penyakit kardiovaskular, meningkatkan daya penglihatan, anti diabetes, anti inflamasi dan anti kanker. Dalam proses pengolahannya, untuk mempertahankan kestabilan dan kandungan antosianin perlu memperhatikan beberapa karakteristiknya yakni antosianin rentan terhadap suhu tinggi, cahaya, lebih stabil pada pH rendah dan dapat dipertahankan kestabilannya dengan cara ko-pigmentasi