Prof Dr Eng Siti Machmudah ST MEng when delivering her scientific oration about supercritical fluid at the ITS Professorial Inauguration procession

ITS Campus, ITS News – The use of organic compounds in the dissolution process of  medicinal raw materials can pollute the surrounding environment. To overcome this problem, the  178th Professor of the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Professor Dr Eng Siti  Machmudah B.Eng, M.Eng developed supercritical fluid technology as a medicinal raw material  by processing herbal plants.

Through her scientific oration, the woman who is familiarly called Mach said that currently the  raw materials for medicines in Indonesia are still dominated by imported products. Therefore, she  made innovations in supercritical fluid in order to encourage the independence of medicinal raw  materials in Indonesia. “In addition, the use of supercritical fluid technology can also be a solution  to environmental problems,” he explained. 

Furthermore, Mach explained that supercritical fluid is a compound that has exceeded its critical  pressure point and critical temperature. This fluid, which has combined liquid and gas properties,  functions as a pure solvent or medium for reaction or material separation processes. “Supercritical  fluid can replace organic solvents in the separation process, so that the results obtained do not  pollute the environment,” said the Professor of the Department of Chemical Engineering ITS. 

In his process, Mach chose to use supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) and subcritical water as  compounds for his research. Both fluids were chosen because they are easy to obtain, non-toxic,  and non-flammable. In addition, the use of CO2 can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions that  trigger global warming.

Prof Dr Eng Siti Machmudah ST MEng while conducting research in a laboratory at Tohoku University, Japan

Mach continued, these two compounds are used to extract raw materials for medicines from herbal  plants. In her research, supercritical CO2 serves to extract raw materials for anticancer drugs from  herbal plants, such as amygdalin from loquat fruit seeds. “Supercritical carbon dioxide can also be  used for the micronization process of medicinal raw materials so that the drug delivery ability in  the body can increase,” added the hijab-wearing woman. 

In addition to amygdalin, the lecturer who was born in Gresik said that the use of supercritical  CO2 can be used for other medicinal raw materials. Some of them are beta sitosterol, licopene,  lutein, beta carotene, astaxanthin, and terpenoid compounds. Meanwhile, subcritical water can be  used to obtain medicinal raw materials from herbal plants such as Moringa leaves and cat whiskers  that can control blood pressure and treat inflammation. 

Not only for medicinal raw materials, the alumnus of the doctoral program at Kumamoto  University, Japan, initiated the use of supercritical CO2 technology for essential oil production.  The oil, which is usually used for aromatherapy, can be produced from extracting plants that  contain essential oils. “With supercritical CO2, the essential oil content in plants does not change  in smell, color, or other physical properties,” Mach explained further.

Prof Dr Eng Siti Machmudah ST MEng while conducting research in a laboratory at Tohoku University, Japan

To develop this innovation, the 50-year-old woman will continue to collaborate with the  pharmaceutical industry to accelerate product downstreaming. The ITS Education Director also  mentioned that the utilization of these innovations can be further developed not only in the  pharmaceutical sector, but can also extend to the food industry and the cosmetics industry. (ITS  Public Relation).

Reporter: Muhammad Aulia Zikra

Translator: Niza Hakimatussayyidah Zaini Ramadhan