The Future of Carica papaya Leaf Extract as an Herbal Medicine Product

Carica papaya (papaya) leaf extract has been used for a long time in a traditional medicine to treat fever in some infectious diseases such as dengue, malaria, and chikungunya. The development of science and technology has subsequently made it possible to provide evidence that this plant is not only beneficial as an informal medication, but also that it has scientifically proven pharmacological and toxicological activities, which have led to its formal usage in professional health care systems. The development of formulations for use in nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals has caused this product to be more valuable nowadays. The use of good manufacturing practice (GMP) standards, along with the ease of registering this product facilitated by policies of the national government, will absolutely increase the value of papaya leaf extract as a vital nutraceutical and cosmeceutical products in the near future. In this article, we review the potential of papaya leaf extract to be a high-value commodity in terms of its health effects as well as its industrial benefits.

Identification of herbal products used by families in the campus of Darussalam Gontor University

Background: The development and the use of herbal medicinal products is increasing in Indonesia. Aim: To identify the safety of herbal medicine product used by families of Darussalam Gontor University (UNIDA) Gontor. Method: This research was conducted to identify herbal products that are used based on features, functions, and benefits. The method used was Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP) with a qualitative approach. Results: The results showed there were 100 products used by 72 respondents. The level of product safety used based on raw materials was 96% and the efficacy claimed was 76%. The most type of product used was jamu (Indonesian indigenous traditional medicine) (94.7%). The range of understanding level of of respondents based on features and benefits was between good and very good. Conclusion: The use of herbal products by respondents can be viewed from the aspect of product safety levels based on raw materials (96%) and efficacy claims (76%). This was still classified as safe.

PRODUCT ATTRIBUTES DETERMINE THE PREFERENCE OF HERBAL MEDICINE CONSUMERS

The emergence of a wide variety of herbal medicinal products requires marketers to better understand consumer behavior. The various brands offered make consumers tend to have certain preferences before making a purchase decision. This study aims to determine the attributes of herbal medicinal products that determine the level of consumer preference in the purchasing process and the closeness of the attributes to consumer preferences. The method used is interviews with consumers which are then processed with conjoint analysis to determine the attributes that are most important to consumers in making a purchase. The research concludes that the most important attributes in purchasing herbal medicine in order from the most important are the properties, price, expiration time and packaging. There is a close relationship between the combination of attributes studied and consumer preferences for herbal medicine. This study is limited to four attributes and does not use ranking ratings on the stimulus or combination of attributes, consumer behavior. The uniqueness of this study is to analyze the attributes simultaneously. Keywords: Herbal medicine product attributes, consumer preferences, conjoin analysis, level of importance

Preparation of Poly(Acrylic Acid) Crosslinked-Gold Nanoparticles for Colorimetric Detection of Analytes

The aims of this study are to synthesize and characterize gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) crosslinked by pH-responsive polymer poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and its application for detection of some analytes in herbal medicine product. In this study, a pH-responsive polymer, poly (acrylic acid) was prepared by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization method. The polymer was then cross-linked by gold nanoparticles, which was synthesized by the Turkevich method. The response of the AuNPs-crosslinked PAA was observed by the color change from red to blue at a specific pH (4-5) and was characterized by TEM. The reversible color change was resulted from aggregation and disaggregation of the AuNPs due to the shrinking and swelling of the polymer when different pH was introduced as a stimulant. This sensor has the capability of recognizing analytes such as aspirin and tolbutamide added in the herbal medicine product at the concentration of 0.04-0.05 M.