Yogyakarta, January 1, 2026 – The PHYTASE student team from the Faculty of Pharmacy, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM), has secured a brilliant victory by winning 1st Place in the national pharmaceutical scientific competition, Pharmacious 2025. This win was achieved through a creative innovation aimed at detecting hidden health threats in personal care products.
The PHYTASE Team, consisting of Nabilla Saver M.Ch, Gresmawareness Jamuss, and Muhammad Afif Ananta, presented a project titled “Paper-Based Colorimetric Kit as a Rapid Detection Method for Diethyl Phthalate in Personal Care Products.” This innovation was developed in response to this year’s competition theme, “Tracing Hazardous Substances in Cosmetics: Hidden Threats to Skin and Body Health.”
The project was highly rated by the judges for offering a detection method that is not only conceptually novel but also highly applicable for the general public. By utilizing a paper-based device, the detection of harmful chemicals such as Diethyl Phthalate can be carried out quickly and easily without the need for complex laboratory equipment. This represents a significant breakthrough in enhancing consumer protection against illegal or dangerous cosmetic products.
The success of the PHYTASE Team through the online selection stages to the offline final round at the Faculty of Pharmacy UGM demonstrates the students’ commitment to supporting SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education). This achievement is expected to encourage further pharmaceutical research oriented toward product safety and public health in the future.
