IPB Student Studies Pink and Blue Ginger as Anthelmintic

The trend of returning to nature encourages people to use herbal remedies. The use of herbal medicine is considered more secure than synthetic drugs on the market. One of the herbs known to the public is pink and blue ginger (Curcuma aeruginosa, also called “temu ireng” in Bahasa) as anthelmintic. The research on pink and blue ginger as anthelmintic showed positive results. However, it is not known whether all samples of the pink and blue ginger in each region in Indonesia have the same potential and activity as anthelmintic. This makes Syifa Silfani Nurul Rizqa or who is familiarly called Syifa doing this research.

This Biochemistry student got the pink and blue ginger from five different areas, namely Bogor, Purwakarta, Ponorogo, Magetan, and Pasaman. Then the analysis of anthelmintic activity was done towards all samples from those five regions. Tests were performed by using thin layer chromatography to detect the presence of chemical components in the extract.

The results showed that all samples from five regions have flavonoid, tannin, essential oil, and saponin compounds. These compounds play a role in the activity of the pink and blue ginger as anthelmintic. The pink and blue ginger originated from Ponorogo and Magetan contains the highest active compounds with concentration of 20 micrograms per ml.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), worm disease is a chronic endemic disease caused by parasitic worms with high prevalence and non-lethal but decreases the health of the human body and livestock. A total of 1.5 billion people or about 24 percent of the world's population is infected by the Soil-Transmitted Helminth (STH) worms. (TK)