Hand Soap Made from Kepok Banana Peel Made by Fapet UB Students Wins in the International Event

Students of the Faculty of Animal Science Universitas Brawijaya (Fapet UB) get silver medals in the International Invention Competition for Young Moslem Scientists 2021 (IICYMS). Namely a competition held by the Indonesian Young Scientist Association (IYSA) in collaboration with UIN Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, and supported by the Union of Arab Academics, International Avicenna Research Center, ITS Actuarial Department, Nahdlatul Ulama Islamic University, Bogor Agricultural University, and several other international institutions. .

The competition, which was held in Bandung, semi- offline and online, on June 1 to 4, 2021, was enlivened by students from various countries. Such as India, Mexico, Malaysia, Qatar, Turkey, and others.

Together with the supervisor Dr. Dedes Amertaningtyas, S.Pt.MP, Fapet UB students consisting of Eko Prihatmaji, Sularso, Hendarto, Nailus Syarifah, and Yasri Rahmawati made hand washing soap made from a mixture of kepok banana peel (musa acuminata balbisiana colla) and broken cow’s milk. Poured through research entitled “Optimization of Musa Acuminata balbisiana Colla Leather Waste and Cow’s Milk as Natural Hand Soap During the Covid-19 Pandemic”.

Dedes said that the research was motivated by current conditions that require people to comply with health protocols in their activities. One of them is washing hands with soap.

Meanwhile, the selection of kepok banana peels and broken cow’s milk as the basic ingredients for making handsoap is to utilize the wasted waste. This is because broken milk is part of the production of dairy cows that is not accepted by the Village Unit Cooperative (KUD), and is considered not to have the standard quality of pure milk.

According to Sularso, the content of these two ingredients has the potential as antibacterial and antimicrobial. Because in broken milk there is still a casein protein content of 80%, which can act as an antimicrobial. While the kepok banana peel contains flavonoid compounds, tannins, terpenoids, saponins and alkaloids.

In general, compounds that have the potential as antioxidants are flavonoids, phenolics, and alkaloids. While the flavonoid, phenolic and polyphenolic compounds have antioxidant, antidiabetic, anticancer, antiseptic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Alkaloid compounds have antineoplastic properties which are also able to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

“With the innovation of hand washing soap from waste materials from banana peels and broken milk, it is hoped that it can be a solution to waste problems and the availability of environmentally friendly soap.” said Sularso (dta)