SEMARANG – Lecturer of the Industrial Chemical Engineering Technology Study Program (TRKI) of the Diponegoro University Vocational School (SV Undip), Mohamad Endy Julianto, has again recorded an achievement by winning an award from Diponegoro University as the second-highest recipient of Granted Patents.
According to Endy, this award is given to lecturers who were Granted Patents and Copyrights at Undip in 2024 as a form of appreciation for their dedication and performance contribution. This award is expected to motivate and encourage Undip lecturers to continue improving the quality of education, with one of the indicators of lecturer performance being measured through the achievement of Intellectual Property (IP), which results from research and community service activities.
Endy explained to the media on Wednesday (15/1/2025) that the research was conducted with a research team, namely Hermawan Dwi Ariyanto, ST, M.Sc, Ph.D, Dr. Indah Hartati, Didik Ariwibowo, ST, MT, and involving students Elsan Febiyanti, Nurika Nazilatul Ilmi, Deas Oky Pratama, and Nadya Fitria Azzahra. This research was funded by LPDP and is included in the Research and Innovation Program for Advanced Indonesia (RIIM), organized by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), with a focus on innovation in the production of caffeine-free green tea.
“The research title is ‘Development of Microwave Biothermochemical Process for the Production of Collagen-Modified Caffeine-Free Green Tea Nanopolyphenols,'” Endy explained. “Hopefully, the research results will soon be commercialized with PPTK Gambung industry partners, namely competitive caffeine-free premium green tea.” He continued.
Endy further explained that this research was motivated by the benefits of green tea, which contains various active compounds that are beneficial for health, such as antioxidants, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiproliferative, antihypertensive, antiobesity, and various other pharmacological functions. Most of the therapeutic and chemopreventive effects of green tea are due to the content of active polyphenols such as catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate, and gallic acid.
The broad pharmacological properties of green tea polyphenols encourage their use in various food products, such as bread, biscuits, donuts, cookies, bakpia, pudding, bakpao, ice cream, cheese, and other functional food products. However, Endy added that the food industry needs caffeine-free green tea with very high health content.
“Therefore, a process is needed to remove caffeine from green tea powder through a microwave blanching process, which aims to inactivate the polyphenol oxidase and hydroperoxidase enzymes and extract caffeine as a nutraceutical product,” said Endy.
Endy also explained that incorporating green tea powder into food and nutraceutical products is limited by the bitter taste of polyphenols and the epimerization process at high temperatures with alkaline pH, which can reduce polyphenol activity. In addition, the characteristics of polyphenols that have low stability and bioavailability are also obstacles. Green tea polyphenols are stable in acidic conditions. Still, they are rapidly degraded in the body, especially in the digestive tract, with only about 5.3% of polyphenols being absorbed from the digestive system.
Endy explained using nanoencapsulation techniques to improve the stability and bioavailability of caffeine-free green tea polyphenols. Nanoencapsulation of active compounds can improve the physical stability of compounds in the body by protecting them from interactions with digestive components and early degradation.
“The efficiency of nano-sized compounds is 15-250 times greater than compounds with a larger size,” said Endy. “Nanoparticles can also slow down circulation time, can be used to increase the concentration of active compounds in food matrices, and can prevent their interaction with other food ingredients.”
Endy also stated that developing the application of the green tea polyphenol nanoencapsulation process using liposome biopolymers modified with collagen is very prospective. The advantages of liposomes are their ability to carry active compounds that are lipophilic or hydrophilic, as well as their similarity to natural cell membranes.
Nanoencapsulation using a liposome system is also reported to achieve encapsulation efficiency of more than 70% and yield of around 80% and can maintain the stability of polyphenols against aggregation and oxidation at temperatures up to 50°C. In addition, liposome biopolymers modified with collagen have been shown to protect bioactive compounds from chemical and physical resistance, increase bioavailability, produce products with high stability, and provide opportunities for controlling the release of core compounds to the desired target.
This collagen modification was inspired by the slippery nature of eels, making it potentially valuable for delivery systems. Collagen is the main structural protein in connective tissues, such as skin, bones, and tendons. Collagen has unique characteristics that allow the formation of strong and flexible fiber networks, which provide structural support for body tissues. Collagen can be used as liposomes for nano-delivery because of its hydrophilic nature, which allows interaction with hydrophilic active compounds, forming a liquid membrane of nano-liposome emulsions.
Furthermore, collagen’s ability to form a membrane layer can stabilize active compounds in nanoliposomes, extending the half-life by protecting the compound from damage before reaching its target. Therefore, using collagen as a basic material for making nano-delivery liposomes ensures that the delivery of polyphenol compounds from green tea is more effective and right on target for body cells that need it.
“Hopefully, the results of this research can be useful for people who consume substitute foods or drinks as a balance to a diet rich in fat and cholesterol,” concluded Endy.