A number of students of Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Faculty of Pharmacy UGM have developed a herbal formula to cure wounds usually suffered by people with diabetes. The formula uses coffee extract.
It was Diana Octavirena Antaresty, Fakhri Husain, Maulana Supama Putra, Siti Hartinah and Giovani Oka Putra Caesar that developed the gel to cure diabetes wounds that are infected by bacteria. The medication is called as Roco Gel.
Team chairman, Diana, said the active substances in robusta coffee, which are cafffein and chlorogenic acid, have the potential to be used as anti-bacterial. Both can also speed up healing of the wound that is infected by Staphylococcus aureus resiten Methicillin (MRSA) bacteria.
“Wounds that are found among people with diabetes will get worse and heal longer if infected by pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus resiten Methicillin (MRSA),” she said on Tuesday (17/6) at UGM.
Diana said Roco Gel made use of coffee beans growing in Mt. Merapi slopes. The ripe coffee beans are fried without oil until dry. The beans are then grounded. Extract of the coffee is made into gel that is based on CMC-Na with the concentrate of 15 percent extract of coffee.
Roco Gel is tested on a biopsy in wistar rats inducted with diabetes type 2. The wound is previously infected with Staphylococcus aureus resiten Methicillin (MRSA).
For 14 days, the wound is treated with the gel twice a day in the morning and evening. It showed that Roco Gel gives better healing treatment to the wound.
“The wound in the mice that is treated with Roco Gel routinely shows better healing than those with the types of gel that are often sold in the market,” Putra added.
In the research under the guidance of drh. Cristhin Marganingsih Santosa, M.Si, it was known that extract of robusta coffee has anti-bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus resiten Methicillin (MRSA) bacteria. It even proved to accelerate wounds healing.
“So, Roco Gel can be made an alternative for people with diabetes wound as it proves to be able to kill MRSA and accelerate the healing of the wound,” she concluded.