Semarang – The high index number of cancer in Indonesia has been a major issue in the medical sector. According to the data published by the Ministry of Health in 2023, there were a total of 48.329 patients in Yogyakarta City or roughly 40% of the city population.
One of many ways to prevent cancer is by consuming health supplements, particularly those bearing immunomodulators to improve the immunity system to fight cancer.
The supplement is commonly packaged in the form of pills or herbal drinks to be consumed regularly. Inspired by this data concerning cancer, students from Universitas Dian Nuswantoro (Udinus) came up with other alternatives by establishing a snack bar product, namely, Mangosteen and Triticum Aestivum Bars or ‘ManTabs’.
“This snack bar is much easier to consume for many folks, as it uses honey as the natural sugar additive, while at the same time also offers the same amount immunomodulator as other health supplements,” Rahma Kurniawati, the team leader, explained.
In addition to Rahma, the development of this product also involved other three students. Those students were Putri Fatmawati—a Communication Science student—as the CMO, Adisti Dwi Cahyanti—an Accounting student—as the CFO, and Elfira Dwi Utami—an Accounting student—as the COO.
The product itself is made of rolled oats, grains, peanuts, and dried fruits combined with mangosteen rind extracts. We chose these specific rinds, as they contain xanton compound with cancer immunostimulant.
“In addition, we also utilize mangosteen rinds to respond to the problems surrounding the supply and demand of farmers in Ungaran. The point is to help these farmers raise their economic values through the mangosteen commodity,” the Accounting student explained.
Each of these products contain 4.5g of Protein, 31,6g of Carbohydrates, 8,85g of Fatand 224kkl of Calories. These ingredients had undergone a lab test and recommendation results from the Health Service of Central Java.
A hundred grams of mangosteen rinds could potentially produce 12 products of this snack. Thus far, the product is marketed through an Instagram account, @pkmkudinus_mantabs, and online store platforms.
Developing Innovations
The supervising instructor, Vilda Ana Veria Setyawati, S.Gz., M.Gizi., added that the project was funded Rp. 7 million. Currently, 90% of the fund has been spent on various aspects, including lab testing, halal certification from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and licensing to Sustaining Business (PB-UMKU) from the government.
“Hopefully, this product will be able to further see a development and a global market. Through this project, we also plan to involve housewives to work with us in developing this ManTabs Snack Bar product to its fullest extent,” she concluded. (Humas Udinus/Haris. Foto: Dok. Pribadi)
