A lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Dr.rer.nat. Ronny Martien, M.Sc., made a nanopolymer hand sanitizer spray from herbal ingredients. This product is an alternative to the antiseptic which has recently become rare in the market due to the outbreak of the corona virus.
“The raw material used is green betel leaf which is widely used as traditional medicine and has become local wisdom from our ancestors’ heritage,” he explained, Tuesday (10/3) during a press conference at the UGM Fortakgama room.
Ronny has been developing a product called the Betel Leaf Infused Nanopolymer Spray for the past year. Green betel leaf was chosen as the raw material because it has antibacterial activity generally caused by bacterial infections such as Staphylococcus auerus and Escherichia coli. In addition, the use of synthetic antibiotics causes a lot of bacterial resistance so that formulations from natural ingredients such as green betel leaves are needed.
Ronny said that the hand sanitizers are made using nanotechnology. The formulation in the form of nanoparticles is chosen because green betel leaves have relatively low solubility in water. With the nanoparticle formulation, it can improve the drug delivery system and the stability of the active substance in betel leaf infusion.
The formula has characteristics of particle size of 246.9 nm with an entrapment efficiency of 23.36 percent. The inhibition zone diameters of nanopolymers against Staphylococcus auerus and Escherichia coli were 7.85 mm and 9.61 mm.
“It has been tested in the laboratory for its activity as an antibacterial. The result is better at inhibiting bacterial growth than extracts that are not formulated with nanoparticles,” he said.
The nanopolymer betel leaf infusion spray is made alcohol-free by formulating betel leaf infusion with chitosan. The presence of this product is expected to be an alternative solution in overcoming the scarcity and cost of hand sanitizers on the market due to the spread of the corona virus.
“The hope is that this betel leaf infusion nanopolymer spray product can help people maintain health and overcome the scarcity of antiseptics on the market,” he said.
