Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

Did you know that people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) in Indonesia increased every year? Based on the results of the Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) carried out by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia in 2013 the rate from of people with DM 1, 2% or around 9.1 million people from 2007. DM occupies the top 10 deadly disease in the world.

DM is a chronic disease in which a person's sugar level is higher than the normal value due to a deficiency of insulin which used to metabolize sugar. Student Creativity Program (PKM) UGM 2018 Entrepreneurship Program that consists of Vega Putri (Faculty of Dentistry), Naurul Izzah (Faculty of Dentistry), Dilla Darista (Faculty of Dentistry), Abdurahman Wahyu (Electronics and Instrumentation SV UGM), and Fathul Huda (Accounting, 2017) created a new innovation of low-calorie sugar it is called Jari Sugar, abbreviation fror Jamaican Cherry Organic Sugar. Main ingredients of Jari Sugar is Jamaican cherry or what we often know as talok/ kersen (In Indonesia). Jamaican cherry grow wild and often wasted on the roadside, though it has the benefit for lowering blood sugar levels. Based on previous research, Jamaican Cherry contains ascorbic acid, fiber, beta-carotene, thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin that are efficacious as antidiabetic, it can reduce blood sugar levels by inhibiting the absorption of blood sugar from the intestine and can accelerate digestion. In addition, the content of flavonoids and saponin chemical compounds in Jamaican Cherry function as antioxidants that can emit the hormone insulin for sugar metabolism.

Supposedly Jari Sugar can motivate consumers to maintain their blood sugar levels, so they don’t need to prick their fingers to check the sugar level in their body. Jari Sugar is expected to reduce the various effects of complications of diabetes such as the risk of periodontal disease such as, the gums bleed and faltering teeth falter and even the date of the tooth. Jari Sugar is safe to be consumed on daily basis because it is suitable for diabetics and a prevention for nondiabetic.

This low-calorie sugar innovated by UGM students is quite cheap, it is worth fifteen thousand rupiah for 200 ml of liquid sugar. Jari Sugar is the only sugar in Indonesia with the main ingredients of Jamaican Cherry. The price offered by this product fits in all group of people considering everyone could benefit from reducing their blood sugar levels.

Source : Fathul Huda