Semarang – On Friday, January 27, 2023, the Biotechnology Study Program held a community service activity at the Biotechnology Laboratory of Diponegoro University Semarang. This activity presented speakers mr. Indra Gunawan ST, MT. The participants of the event came from the community of PGOT Mardi Utomo Semarang, students of the Biotechnology study program and lecturers of the Biotechnology study program.
Mr. Indra said that as the second largest patchouli oil producing country in the world, Indonesian herbal plants have a lot of potential of high economic value. The Indonesian Ministry of Health noted that there are at least 19,871 medicinal plants used as traditional herbs. A total of 16,218 of them have been identified. From the results of this identification, only about 9,600 species are known to have medicinal properties. A total of 200 species have been used as raw materials for the traditional medicine industry. The lemongrass plant is one of them. Apart from being a kitchen spice, this plant if distilled oil can provide more benefits, both in medical and economic terms.
Reporting from sehatq.com, lemongrass oil has benefits such as being able to fight bacteria, kill fungi, prevent inflammation, have antioxidant content, prevent peptic ulcer, prevent nausea, prevent diarrhea, lower high blood pressure, relieve headaches, relieve stress and anxious disorders and relieve joint pain.
In this training, the participants were guided directly by resource persons, practicing the distillation of lemongrass oil from raw materials. The tool used is a modified distillation tool to optimally distill citronella oil.
This training lasted for 3 hours and was followed enthusiastically by the participants until the end of the event.