According to WHO, cardiovascular disease is the number 1 cause of death globally. An estimated 17.9 million people died from cardiovascular disease in 2016. Of these deaths, 85% were due to heart attacks and strokes.

One of the causes of heart attacks and strokes is thrombosis, which is the formation of blood clots in blood vessels. To prevent the occurrence of thrombosis can be treated using anticoagulant drugs.

Anticoagulants are a class of drugs used to inhibit blood clotting. The most commonly used anticoagulants are warfarin and aspirin. However, the drug carries the risk of causing hepatotoxicity, damage to the liver caused by the drug.

Therefore three students of Chemical Engineering (Tekim); Yuandina Putri Nurwanti (Tekim’20), Amanda Ade Fitriani (Tekim’20), and Mifta Faradisah (Tekim’19) with the guidance of Vivi Nurhadianty, ST, MT, created anticoagulant drugs for cardiovascular treatment using ethanol extract of pineapple stem (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr).

Pineapple is a type of fruit that is easy to grow and available throughout the year so it is widely consumed by the people of Indonesia. However, the utilization of each part of the fruit is still not optimal.

Like pineapple skin and stem which are usually discarded (pineapple waste), if scientifically researched, it is one of the herbal ingredients that have the potential to be developed for alternative treatments because of the content of flavonoids and the bromelain enzyme.

The bromelain enzyme is most commonly found in the pineapple stem, which is around 0.100-0.60%. Bromelain is a sulfhydryl protease enzyme consisting of trypsin, chymotrypsin, and several other structures to digest proteins into polypeptides and amino acids.

Bromelain enzyme can selectively reduce thromboxane A2 and support prostacyclin which is used to inhibit platelet aggregation. It works by breaking down fibrinogen, fibrin, and other factors that can cause blood to clot.

“Because of its function, we use it as an anticoagulant for cardiovascular treatment,” said Yuandina Putri representing the team.

Through the extraction and purification technique, the pineapple stem is extracted into a thick liquid. With this extraction enzymes in the cells of the pineapple fruit tissue are released.

Meanwhile, with the help of the spectrophotometric method in the UV area, bromelain enzyme levels can be measured through absorption at the wavelength of the BSA (Bromelain Serum Albumin) test solution.

Characterization tests are also required, as are pH value tests and coagulation tests with formic acid.

“Hopefully this innovation can help treat cardiovascular disease and of course provide an escalation of knowledge,” concluded Yuandina. (humasft)