Earthworms from Organic Farmlands in Bali As a source of natural antioxidants

EARTHWORM FROM ORGANIC FARMLAND IN BALI AS SOURCES OF NATURAL ANTIOXIDANT

By

Ni Wayan Sucindra Dewi

Department of Pharmacology and Therapy

Faculty of Medicine, Udayana University

Back to Nature is a phrase we often hear and see as a health-slogan. Back to Nature if translating in Indonesian means returning to nature. The term back to nature has several meanings, one of which is in the field of health is to use natural ingredients as medicine. The use of natural ingredients as traditional medicine has been done since ancient times by our ancestors in Indonesia in general and in Bali in particular. Some medicinal plants have been studied and are known to contain antioxidant compounds.

Antioxidants are compounds that play a role in neutralizing free radicals. Excessive free radicals in the body can cause oxidative stress. Prolonged oxidative stress can cause disruption to the body and the occurrence of a disease, so a balance between oxidants and antioxidants is needed to prevent oxidative stress.

Earthworms in Ayurweda in India and in traditional Chinese medicine are used as additives in medicinal herbs. Earthworms are believed to have several properties that are beneficial to health, including as a heat-lowering, reducing inflammation and as a blood thinner.

Earthworms from organic agricultural land in Bali, are earthworms that are bred by raising them from eggs to adult worms that are ready to be harvested on some organic agricultural land in Bali. Adult worms are dried in an oven with a stable temperature before finally being processed into flour, this flour is then processed into extracts. Earthworm extracts from organic agricultural land were tested for their content using phytochemical tests. Based on the results of phytochemical tests it is known that earthworm extract is rich in antioxidants, so that earthworms from organic agricultural land in Bali have the potential as a source of natural antioxidants.

(Quoted from various sources)