Bandung, itb.ac.id - The Research Center for Bioscience and Biotechnology of Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) has been developing a hand sanitizer called Xantis made using compounds extracted from Javanese ginger (curcuma zanthorrhiza). 

The development of Xantis is worked on by Dr. Elfahmi, M.Si. Apt., as the Head Researcher of Research Center for Bioscience and Biotechnology, Dr. Husna Nugrahapraja, Ph.D, lecturer in School of Life Science and Technology, and Dr. Agus Chahyadi, a postdocs from the research center, and an ITB graduate student majoring in pharmacy.

Xantis is developed based on standard formulas issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Indonesian National Agency of Drug and Food Control (BPOM). Different from the other similar products, Xantis is a hand sanitizer that has plenty of active compounds extracted from natural ingredients as its essence. "Overall, this hand sanitizer contains 70% alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, aloe vera gel, and natural fragrance from oranges and xanthorrhizol-rich fractions," said Dr. Elfahmi when interviewed by ITB Public Relations reporter.

Xanthorrhizol on this hand sanitizer was taken from Javanese ginger using a special and specific method of chemical fractions isolation and separation. The method is based on ITB’s research which have discover easier and cheaper way to extract from curcuma. "The use of Xantis, until now, has only been limited to the ITB community. However, we are also seeking a distribution permit so that this product can be used immediately by the Indonesian people, especially since the corona outbreak, hand sanitizer has become a crucial need," Elfahmi added.

For mass production plan, Elfahmi said that the problem became more complex. He realized that industrial scheme of pharmaceutical/chemical product is not only a matter of researches work. “To produce and sell Xantis to the market, we need to coordinate with the Ministry of Health and industry that already has antiseptic production certificates. These are the initial steps to obtain legal requirements for the market for hand sanitizer products,“ he said.

In response to the difficulty of getting a hand sanitizer due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Elfahmi advised that people do not need to panic. According to him, making a home made hand sanitizer does not require special skills so the community should be able to learn from a variety of available information sources. Finally, besides using hand sanitizer, he also reminded people to always implement Clean and Healthy Lifestyle. "Hopefully this coronavirus pandemic can be resolved quickly," he hoped.

Translation: Ferio Brahmana