Discovering the Benefits of Sea Worms for Diabetes

Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) student, Anisa Utami R. Zahra conducted a research entitled, Characteristics of Antidiabetic Capsules from Sea Worm Extract (Shiponosoma australe)

Jakarta, CNN Indonesia — Symptoms of diabetes mellitus, known as a silent killer, are often not realized by sufferers and when it is discovered, complications have already occurred. Diabetes treatment is usually done by giving oral medication and insulin hormone injections.

The current tendency of society to implement a back to nature lifestyle has made herbal medicines with raw materials from nature widely in demand. This is what underlies Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) student, Anisa Utami R. Zahra conducting a research entitled, Characteristics of Antidiabetic Capsules from Sea Worm Extract (Shiponosoma australe).

Anisa is part of a research project team related to the Sipuncula sea worm, chaired by Prof. Dr. Ir. Sri Purwatiningsih, MSi from the Department of Aquatic Product Technology, FPIK IPB. Anisa explained that this research was conducted to determine the quality of raw materials, chemical components in marine worm extracts, and to make drug preparations that meet quality requirements. In this case, capsule preparations were made. Previously, the ethanol extract of S. australe marine worms had been tested preclinically to have antihyperglycemic activity, but the development of the extract into a standardized drug had not been studied further. Scientific research related to the development and characterization of standardized herbal medicines from S. australe marine worm extracts needs to be carried out so that they can be used sustainably, she said.