VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Listeners, Chinese Petai or Lomtoro is a type of shrub that is often used in reforestation or erosion prevention. It comes from Tropical America. This plant has been introduced to Java for hundreds of years for agricultural and forestry purposes. Then, it spread to other islands across Indonesia. This plant grows well in dry areas, countryside, gardens, forests, and mountains. The existence of Chinese Petai is easy to find and cultivate in the community. It is potential to be developed into an innovative product in the community. However, the current utilization of Chinese Petai seeds is still not optimal even though the nutritional content of the plant is very beneficial for health. A group of students from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) mixed Chinese Petai into healthy noodles as a substitute for staple foods for diabetics.

The students of the UNY are Ahzami Fadilah Akbar (Electrical Engineering), Intan Diah Kusuma (Culinary Education), Wulan Febrianingsih (Science Education), Siti Vera Lestari (Mathematics Education), and Asma Nur Azizah (English Literature). According to Ahzami Fadilah Akbar, Chinese Petai seeds contain tannins, galactomannans, and flavonoids which have the effect of lowering the blood sugar levels by inhibiting the activity of glucosidase and alpha amylase which play a major role in absorption in the intestinal brush border membrane. Research on the anti-diabetic effect of Chinese Petai seeds has been carried out previously, in which the administration of Chinese Petai seed extract doses of 0,25 g/kg, 0,5 g/kg and 1 g/kg can reduce blood glucose levels by 49.97%, 56.80% and 65.30%. In addition, making this noodle also educates the public that Chinese Petai can be eaten not only as a side dish or salad but also other forms that are rich in benefits. Wulan Febrianingsih also stated that she and her co-students process Chinese Petai into noodles because noodles are familiar with the community who can obtain them easily and the price is cheap. Noodles made from wheat contain a large amount of carbohydrates but little protein, vitamin, and mineral. Efforts that can be made to improve the nutritional value of noodles are by replacing flour or adding other additional ingredients. This product is named ‘Beta Health Noodle’.

Beta Health Noodle product serves as an alternative meal for sufferers of diabetics. The advantage of this product is that it is safe because it is made of natural ingredients without preservatives. The way of serving is very practical; it can be served as soup or fried noodles. This work won a silver medal at the 2021 World Invention Competition and Exhibition organized by the Young Scientist Association (IYSA) and SEGi College Subang Jaya Malaysia.