The team consisted of Viona Setiawan (Microbiology 2020), Bilqis Naura Safira Rizam (Biology 2020), Violeta Valencia (Microbiology 2020), and Muhammad Irsyad Ramadhan (Biology 2020) went through the lengthy process of the competition- from submitting the CSW proposal until receiving the results of the selection.

LACTOPRESSION's work titled "Psychobiotic Innovation with Lactobacillus Bacteria Combination and Piperine Extract from Javanese Chili (Piper retrofractum) as Alternative Therapy for Major Depression Disorder'' was inspired by the problems with depression, one of the most common mental illnesses experienced by college students. The team researched ways to manage it through microbial and biological approaches.

Under the guidance of Dr. Indra Wibowo, S.Si., M.Sc (professor from ITB SITH Physiology, Animal Development, and Biomedical Science Research Group), the team found it challenging to access the campus's laboratory during the pandemic. Such a matter had messed up their agenda several times.

The team based their research on the Gut-brain axis, the concept that bacteria and microbes can control a person's mood. Using lactobacillus bacteria and piperine extract from Javanese chili, they created a psychobiotic formula and tested it on mice.

The research revealed that the formula significantly reduced the mice's depression by 4x. From the results, the team hoped that their formula could be further tested with humans and lower the cases of people having depression.

Reporter: Pravito Septadenova Dwi Ananta (Geological Engineering, 2019)
Translator: Firzana Aisya (Bioengineering, 2021)