Unique! IPB Students Create Active Packaging from Mimosa Leaves
The Mimosa plant (Mimosa pudica) includes plants that are easy to find around us, but still regarded as wild plants or weeds. The utilization of embarrassing daughter plants in Indonesia is limited to traditional medicine.
Scientifically, the pharmacological activity of Mimosa has been extensively researched and has proven to contained antitoxic, antihepatotoxic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Shame daughter contains 9% active compound with the largest concentration found in the leaf.
Three Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) students try to harness the Mimosa plant into active packaging for food. They are Winda Komala, Marhamatul Azizah, and Prisilia May Agustin.
"The Mimosa plant contains antimicrobial activity that can be developed into an active component on a package. Its natural traits and does not cause toxic hazards if consumed in fair quantities into consideration we choose this plant, "said Winda, Chairman of the creator of active packaging from Mimosa’s leaves.
Active packaging is a packaging that utilizes the dynamic interaction between the added components and the packaging conditions that results in an increase in the shelf life of a product. Active packaging with antimicrobials has the advantage that it can better protect the product because it can kill microbes directly at the time of microbial contact with the packaging material.
Winda and her colleagues made the packaging active by modifying the pectin and the leaves of Mimosa leaves. "Our active packaging is a semipermiabel film. In this form the content of antimicrobial compounds from Mimosa leaves’ extracts can work more effectively, "added Winda.
With the guidance of Dr. Ir. Nugraha Edhi Suyatma, M.Sc, Lecturer of the Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agricultural Technology IPB, the three students successfully applied the active packaging of embarrassed daughter on fresh food products such as beef and fish.
The findings of Winda and her colleagues include one of the Student Creativity Program Students-Scientific Field (PKM PE) Year of 2018. The title of research is "Utilization of Mimosa Leaves as Active Ingredients on Antimicrobial Packaging Based Pectin".
Winda and his colleagues hope that their findings could develop people's insights about the antimicrobial active packaging of the surrounding plants and can become a new realm in the world of food packaging for the community.
"We also expect the patenting of pectin-based active packaging method from the Mimosa leaves. And the commercialization of the method of making antimicrobial active packaging from the daughter of industrial scale shame ", she concluded. (DMR)
