Dede Martino, ‘Sanggai Machine’ Preserves Food, Medicines

KOMPAS/IRMA TAMBUNAN

Dede Martino

Tens of thousands of species of food crops and medicinal plants grow in this tropical country. Their high potential have not been managed properly and instead, they have been wasted. At the University of Jambi, agricultural technology researcher Dede Martino, 53, has enhanced the economic value of these plants with his “Sanggai machine”.

After dozens of years working in his laboratory as well as at his Tekno Martino workshop in the Sumatran city of Jambi, Dede has finally invented the technology for preserving foods and medicine stechnologies. He calls it the “Sanggai machine”.

The machine helps preserve various plants and plant products – from vegetables to fruits and spices to medicinal herbs – for months at room temperature. If these raw food ingredients are then stored in a refrigerator, they can last more than three years without any changes to their nutritional content.

“Sanggai” is taken from the Malay word sanggat, which means to dry by stringing up or hanging it above a fire. In contrast, the sanggai machine replaces the fire with radio-frequency waves.

In Sumatra, drying coffee, cinnamon, areca nuts and cocoa generally still uses the traditional method that relies on the heat from the sun. If the weather is cloudy or rainy, the process takes longer.

The raw ingredients often do not dry completely under direct sunlight and instead, grow moldy. If they are consumed, fungal contamination can damage the liver and kidneys. Fungi that contain aflatoxin, a toxic compound, can also cause stunting by disrupting physical development.

Heating and drying are not the only methods for drying raw food ingredients. Dede discovered that energy from radio waves could also be used for dry preservation.

Electromagnetic waves at certain frequencies cause air movement. “The water content in food ingredients is vibrated with certain waves, and then the water molecules will evaporate into the air,” he said on Thursday (11/15/2018), explaining how his machine works. The machine then blows out the evaporated water particles through narrow vents in the door.

Dede adjusts the drying process over 32 hours, maintaining a stable microclimate inside the machine at less than 40 degrees Celsius. The water content in the food ingredient continues to diminish until it reaches the proper level of below 5 percent.

Low moisture content slows the growth of bacteria in foods. Chilies, mustard greens, tempeh, pineapples and grated coconuts dried using this technique can last 2-6 months. When they are stored in a refrigerator, the food ingredients can last more than three years.

The same is true for coffee beans, cinnamon bark and cacao beans, Sumatra\'s leading commodities.

Years of research

Dede created the machine out of his concern over the poor utilization of agricultural and medicinal crops. The diverse species of beneficial plants that grow in the country should be used to benefit the people. But the products are typically sold raw, so the do not have added value.

Medicinal herbs are one of the products that should be utilized more optimally. Red ginger, turmeric, ginger and galangal are superior products that are good for the health and proven to cure various diseases. Natural medicines will be increasingly in demand in the future as public interest in herbal medicines and treatments increases.

In her study, “Plants as a Source of Bioactive Compounds: Its Role in New Drug Therapies and Developments” (2017), Gadjah Mada University pharmaceutical professor Ratna Asmah Susidarti points out that the great potential of tropical plants in Indonesia have not been harnessed. Indonesia’s tropical forests are home to at least 30,000 plant species. Of these, only about 9,600 species are known to have medicinal properties. However, only 200 species have been used in medicinal or herbal treatments.

Prior to developing the Sanggai machine, Dede had already produced innovative agricultural technologies, including irrigation nozzles and pest control techniques. He also developed devices that could measure the content in chemical and organic fertilizers, as well as a bioreactor for organic liquid fertilizer. Later, when hydroponics became a trend, he created special hydroponic organic fertilizers. Dede registered the brand name Tekno Martino for all the products he developed.

He used his personal savings from his teaching salary to undertake the various researches and to develop innovations in agricultural technology. He also relies on the proceeds he makes from selling his inventions and products to buy equipment for his laboratory.

Dede started developing the Sanggai machine in the 2000s, and modified and upgraded it continually over more than 10 years. The first Sanggai machine could only dry food ingredients to a moisture content level of 15 percent. The chemical property of the dried foods remained in good condition, as seen in the unchanged color of the food. However, the dried food did not have adequate preservability.

He realized that to achieve an even lower level of moisture content, the machine needed better ventilation. So, in his second attempt, Dede modified the machine by adding special vents. Then a new problem emerged: the temperature inside the machine rose too quickly.

He overhauled the machine to develop the third generation. Dede fitted the machine with an air dryer as well as a cooler. “The goal is to save energy,” he said.

He didn’t stop there, and made several other improvements. He replaced the metal body of the machine with a wooden one, because the thin metal, unlike wood, blocked the radio waves.

He improved the fifth generation machine by replacing its door with clear glass. This helped the machine to function optimally because he could view its contents without opening the door, which allowed the internal environment to maintain a stable temperature of below 40 degrees Celsius.

Dede hopes that Indonesia’s diverse plant species could be managed and utilized more optimally, so that the country was no longer dependent on imported medicine. New technologies invented at home can be used to break through the gap.

Dede Martino

Born: Jambi, May 30, 1965

Education: - Bachelor in agronomy from the University of Jambi

- Masters in agronomy, Andalas University

Wife: Ir Yulma Erita, 41

Children: - Gilang Muhammad, 26 - Galih Muhammad, 26 - M. Irsyad, 20 - Muthia Azzahra, 12

Achievements: - Inventor, 137 agricultural technology innovations - Kalpataru Award in environmental conservation, Jambi province, 2012 - Developer, zero waste, power-saving mini liquid organic fertilizer management plant for community waste management - Tekno Martino brand products; used as teaching material at Jambi agricultural training center - 2004 BPPT award, single-spore isolation tool (patented) - Fourth place for his liquid fertilizer bioreactor, 2006 - Best method award for organic fertilizer production, 2003