Researching Red Algae As Candidates for Antiviral Drugs, FMIPA UNS Students Win 3rd Place in National KTI

FMIPA UNS – Adhie Massardi and Annisa Fitri Kurniawati successfully won a title at the Marine Science Competition (Marsco) 2021. They are both students of the Biology Study Program class 2019 Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) Sebelas Maret University (UNS) Surakarta. The achievement of winning 3rd place in Scientific Writing (KTI) at the national level was obtained from the results of their research on red algae as candidates for antiviral drugs.

Their scientific paper is entitled “Exploration of Rhodophyta Bioactive Compounds as In Silico SARS-CoV-2 Glycoprotein Spike Inhibitor for Antiviral Drug Candidates”. The increase in Covid-19 cases and the lack of a specific drug for this virus have become the problems behind them compiling the KTI. Although the Covid-19 vaccine is already available in the community, people who have been infected with Covid-19 cannot get vaccinated. Therefore the discovery of the antiviral drug Sars-Cov-2 needs to be done.

As quoted from the uns.ac.id page, Adhie explained that the large amount of bioactive compounds possessed by Red Algae became their main attraction in this study. In addition, the abundance of red algae in nature and the easy cultivation process are other potentials of this organism which has another name Rhodopyta. One of their research implementations is the in silico method. This method is rated as the most suitable for the current situation.

“One of the methods we use is the in silico method where research is carried out without having to go to the laboratory. This method is very suitable to be carried out for research during the pandemic where laboratory access is still limited,” explained Adie, Saturday (12/18/2021).

Their success in this competition was greeted with great pleasure. Adhie and Annisa admitted that they were surprised to be able to win because this was their first KTI competition at the national level. They go through each of these stages with maximum effort by continuing to discuss and consult with their supervisors. In the grand final stage, the UNS representative team competed with 9 teams from various universities, such as Diponegoro University (Undip), Pertamina University, Airlangga University, to the Bandung Institute of Technology.

“Hopefully our research can contribute to the discovery and development of a candidate for antiviral drug sars-cov-2 based on local wisdom,” hoped Adhie.

Current achievements encourage them to excel again at the next opportunity. They want to continue to make UNS proud and motivate other students to continue to be productive during the pandemic. Adhie also advised not to be tired of trying because the effort will not betray the results.

Marsco 2021 itself is a scientific writing competition organized by the Undip Marine Science Student Association. The theme carried is “Optimization and Innovation of Marine Resources Based on Science and Technology in Realizing the Prosperity of the Nation”. This competition is present as a forum for students to develop and hone the value of creativity, critical thinking, and innovation. [MnR/MIPA]

Source: uns.ac.id