Ubaya Students Create Healthy Snack from Mango Leaves and Peanut Skins

Five students from Universitas Surabaya (Ubaya) have created Mangonut Bar, a healthy snack made from mango leaves and peanut skins that utilises food waste while offering potential as a functional food for the community. Team leader Josephine Aprilia in Surabaya on Friday said the idea stemmed from concern over the number of type one and two diabetes mellitus sufferers in Indonesia, which ranks sixth largest in the world. “After we investigated, it turns out that mango leaves contain an antidiabetic compound called mangiferin. Utilising mango leaf extract can prevent spikes in blood sugar levels because the process of glucose absorption is reduced,” she said. Besides Josephine Aprilia, the Mangonut Bar development team consists of Felicia Tiffany T, Jovianne Vevina, Sabina Ananda V, and Edwin Tirtana from the Faculty of Technobiology and the Faculty of Business and Economics at Universitas Surabaya. In addition to the mangiferin content in mango leaves, the team also saw the potential of peanut skins, which have so far been underutilised. Josephine said the product development process, resulting in a ready-to-eat snack, took about three months. During that time, the team faced challenges in coordinating schedules because they came from different faculties, while also conducting various trials to achieve the right texture, taste, and aroma. “The main challenge was that we came from different faculties, so adjusting schedules and workloads was quite difficult. Moreover, it took several trials for the product to have a good texture, taste, and aroma,” Josephine said. The production of Mangonut Bar was carried out under the guidance of Dr Gabriel Tirtawijaya through a process of drying mango leaves and peanut skins to reduce moisture content without damaging their nutritional content. The mango leaf and peanut skin powders are then mixed with butter, erythritol sweetener, pure honey, eggs, cornstarch, roasted peanuts, and rice crispy. The dough is baked for 15 minutes at 120 degrees Celsius until ready to be cut into snack bars. Josephine hopes this innovation can inspire the creation of food products that provide wider benefits to the community while increasing the utilisation of agricultural waste. “Furthermore, this Mangonut innovation has great potential to be produced on an industrial scale because the raw materials are easy to find, the manufacturing process is simple, and the capital required is not too high,” she said. The Mangonut Bar innovation previously won a gold medal in the Food category, the Favourite Poster award in the Food category, and third runner-up across all categories at the Mandalika Essay Competition 8.