Depok, August 8th 2023. Hanjeli, Stevia and Rosella plants have high selling power if they are processed properly. This was realized by a team of lecturers from the Faculty of Pharmacy (FF) at Universitas Indonesia (UI), and they were interested in carrying out community service (community service) regarding the breeding and processing of these plants. Last year, they carried out community service in Sasakpanjang village, Tajurhalang District, Bogor Regency, West Java, on how to plant these three herbal plants.
This year, the community service team from FF UI went to the same location for ongoing activities aimed at increasing productivity and improving the economy in the village by empowering local residents. One of the community service team representatives, Dr. Fiky Yulianto Wicaksono, S.P., M.P., provided tips and tricks regarding seed preparation, planting and maintenance of these three plants.
“Planting Hanjeli, Rosella and Stevia is not difficult, but you need to be careful and patient in caring for it so that it grows well and when you harvest, you will get plants of optimal quality. Growers also need to know the characteristics of these plants to avoid taking a wrong step, which will result in crop failure,” said Dr. Fiky at the community service which was held on Sunday (23/7).
Since 2021, Sasakpanjang Village is one of the villages supported by the UI Faculty of Pharmacy. In this community service program activity, the theme of the material they presented was about “Post-Harvest Education and Processing of Hanjeli, Stevia and Rosella Cultivation Products”.
The next topic regarding the benefits of Hanjeli, Rosella, and Stevia from a health perspective was delivered by Prof. Dr. apt. Berna Elya, M.Si., professor of FFUI. “These three plants have advantageous substances for the body. The carbohydrate content of hanjeli seeds is much lower than corn, rice, sorghum, millet and barley, while the levels of fat, protein, vitamin B1 and calcium are higher. Roselle has anti-obesity, antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, lactation effects, anti-inflammatory, anti-cholesterol, hepatoprotective and antimicrobial benefits. Stevia has hypoglycemic effects, cardiovascular effects, digestive effects, and antimicrobial activity,” said Prof. Berna who is also a teaching staff of the FFUI Herbal Study Program.
Methods for post-harvest processing and preparation of Rosella, Hanjeli and Stevia simplicia were explained by other members of the community service, namely apt. Roshamur Cahyan Forestrania, M.Sc., Ph.D. She explained the characteristics of the Rosella, Hanjeli, and Stevia plants that are ready to be harvested, how to harvest, process these plants, and make them into ready-to-consume products. Training on how to process the three plants into products that can be consumed, such as Rosella jam and Rosella tea, was also given by the FFUI community service team.
“Rosella jam and tea are taken from Rosella flower petals and Hanjeli Milk comes from Hanjeli seeds. Both of these products are given a natural sweetener from dried Stevia leaves, this sweetener can provide a sweet taste with a much lower calorie content than granulated sugar,” said apt. Roshamur who is also a teaching staff at FFUI.
This community service, funded by PT Phytochemindo Reksa, Taisho Pharmaceutical, and Danone Aqua, also included packaging making practices, packaging methods, and education on interesting packaging components. Vice Dean for Education, Research and Student Affairs, FFUI, Prof. Dr. apt. Fadlina Chany Saputri, M.Sc. said, “Sasakpanjang Village is the village of choice, Human Initiative recommends this village because of the extraordinary initiative and enthusiasm of its residents. Therefore, we hope that the villagers here will not only be able to process it, but will also be able to produce products that can be sold on the market. It could be a regional specialty product produced by the residents of Sasakpanjang Village themselves.”
Rudi Sofyan, the head of the local RW also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the FFUI Community Service Team. “We hope that in the future the relationship between Sasakpanjang village and UI will continue to run well and the knowledge gained will not only be about the planting process, but the processing process will also be obtained to provide benefits to the village,” said Rudi.
