Judul: Role of Glucomannan-Activated Charcoal as Hypocholesterolemic in Sprague Dawley.
Abstrak: Cholesterol is a metabolites that contain sterol fat. It is important for every cell of the body in order to perform its function such as the formation of vitamin D, cortisol hormones and reproductive hormones. Increase concentration of cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia is a predisposed condition of cardiovascular disease. Based on previous studies have reported that glucomannan and activated charcoal can lower cholesterol, but a combination of the two in a formulation has not been reported. Glucomannan which is one of the most important chemical components in the tubers of Amorphophallus is a polysaccharide composed of units of D-glucose and D-mannose. Ties that make up the form of glucomannan polymer is a β-1,4-glycosides. Activated charcoal is a material that has the ability as an adsorbent, are amorphous, and has the configuration of carbon atoms shaped plates bonded carbon atoms with covalent bonds in the hexagonal sides. The objective of this study was to examined the role of various formulation of glucomannan from Amorphophallus and activated charcoal to reduce cholesterol levels in adult male rats of Sprague Dawley strain. Stages of this research is the isolation of glucomannan from Amorphophallus flour, activated charcoal manufacture, formulation and characterization using instruments, in vivo testing, and cholesterol analysis. Experimental animals used in this study was 35 adult male Sprague Dawley with body weight ranged from 160 to 200 g. Animals were divided into 7 treatment groups consuming high-fat diet (HFD) and glucomannan, HFD and teak sawdust activated charcoal, HFD and coconut fiber activated charcoal, HFD and glucomannan-activated charcoal 1:1, HFD and glucomannan-activated charcoal 2:1, HFD and glucomannan-activated charcoal 1:2 and HFD without treatment as control group. Total plasma cholesterol was analyzed at baseline and end of study after 5 weeks of treatment. The results of the analysis of Fourier transform infrared showed that the isolated glucomannan has the same functional group with standard glucomannan. The results of the analysis of pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy indicate that the relative percentage of sugar in the glucomannan derivatives isolated by 14.2% and glucomannan flour standard 15.5%. The results of the analysis of X-ray diffractometer indicates the degree of crystallinity of teak sawdust activated charcoal powder was 32.8% and coconut activated carbon fibers by 40.3%. The results of the analysis of scanning electron microscope showed that coconut fiber activated charcoal has uniform pore shape better than teak sawdust activated charcoal. The conclusion of this research that the highest decrease in cholesterol level was in the treatment group HFD and glucomannanactivated charcoal 1:1, with a decrease in total cholesterol levels by 37.4%, decreased levels of low density lipoprotein by 49.7%, and decreased triglyceride levels by 18.3% .
Keyword: cholesterol, glucomannan, activated charcoal, Sprague Dawley

Judul: Peran berbagai serat pangan pada perbaikan profil lipid darah mencit hiperkolesterolemia
Abstrak: Dietary fiber is widely used as a functional food and recommended to reduce blood lipid levels to prevent hypercholesterolemia. Agar, carrageenan, and rice bran, are examples of foods with high fiber content. These experiments were designed to study the effects of agar, carrageenan, and rice bran supplementations on blood lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic male mice. The study was divided into three experiments. The first experiment was designed to formulate diet that could induce hypercholesterolemia in male mice as animal models in this study. The second experiment was designed to improve blood lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic male mice by using agar, carrageenan, and rice bran as sources of dietary fiber. The third experiment was designed to study the effectiveness of dietary fiber as compared to standard drugs in lowering blood lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic male mice. The experiments were conducted at Faculty of Veteriner Medicine, Bogor Agricultural University and Physiology Laboratory, Indonesia University of Education, in January 2011 until March 2012. The parameters measured were body weight, cholesterol concentrations in serum, liver, and feces, serum triglyceride, cholesterol high density lipoprotein (HD-c), cholesterol low density lipoprotein (LDL-c), and glucose concentrations. The first experiment showed that feeding a high-fat diet (12%) for 30 days could produce hypercholesterolemic conditions in male mice. The second experiment showed that supplementation of 18% agar, 46% carrageenan, and 57% rice bran (equivalent to insoluble dietary fiber content of 14%) in hypercholesterolemic mice fed with hypercholesterolemic diets could improve blood lipid profiles. Carrageenan as a source of dietary fiber showed the best effect on improvement of blood lipid profile in hypercholesterolemic male mice as compared to agar and rice bran, as indicated by the lower serum total cholesterol and triglyceride concentrations, higher serum HDL-c concentrations, and higher removal of cholesterol in feces. The third experiment showed that the effects of dietary fiber supplementation by agar, carrageenan and rice bran on lowering blood lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic mice were lower than those of simvastatin and atorvastatin. Carrageenan as a source of functional dietary fiber had a potenstial to decrease LDL-c concentration, to increase HDL-c concentration, and to increase fecal cholesterol excretion with the final reduction in total serum cholesterol concentrations similar to simvastatin and atorvastatin. It was concluded that supplementation of agar, carragenan, and rice bran as a source of dietary fiber decreased body weight, serum and liver cholesterol concentrations, serum triglyceride and LDL-c concentrations, but increased serum HDL-c concentrations, and increased cholesterol excretion through feces, without a significant effect on blood glucose consentrations. Agar, carrageenan, and rice bran supplementation as sources of dietary fibers could improve lipid profiles in hypercholesterolemic mice.
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Judul: PEmetaan Kawasan Peka Bencana Tsunami di wilayah Pesisir propinsi Nusa Tenggara Timur
Abstrak: Kondisi geologi Indonesia yang merupakan pertemuan lempeng-lempeng tektonik menjadi kawasan Indonesia memiliki tingkat kerawanan yang tinggi terhadap bencana alam seperti gempa bumi, tsunami dan rawan letusan gunung api. Gempa bumi yang terjadi di dasar laut mengakibatkan pergolakan massa air yang dapat menghasilkan gelombang besar atau disebut tsunami.
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