The combination of a tropical climate and high rainfall intensity makes Indonesia have fertile soil so that various kinds of plants can thrive.
Indonesia is a country that has various types of flora and fauna. As the largest archipelagic country in the world, this country is known as one of the most abundant spice producers. Since the 19th century, European countries have traveled across the sea to get spices from Indonesia. The combination of a tropical climate and high rainfall intensity makes Indonesia have fertile soil so that various kinds of plants can thrive. Not only spices, there are many types of tubers which are also widely used as consumption products and food raw materials. One of the most researched root crops is Porang, a type of plant that contains konjac glucomannan. This tuber has been researched by scientists to get a lot of information about the content and also the nutrients in it.
In Indonesian society, konjac glucomannan extracted from Porang is often used for various purposes. These tubers can be processed into flour so that they can be used as other food ingredients. In addition, the content of other substances in this plant can also be applied to purify water to an electrical insulator. For food processed products, konjac flour from the Porang plant is often used as a thickener for ice cream. Even the Japanese use the same ingredients for the raw material for shirataki noodles. Japan is also one of the countries that uses konjac the most to process various types of food. This is proof that the Porang and konjac tubers have their own place for people from other countries.
The glucomannan substance in Porang is known as Konjac Glucomannan (KGM). The extraction process is carried out to remove calcium oxalate crystals. In addition, this process can also produce glucomannan compounds, which are a type of soluble polysaccharide fiber that is low in calories and contains high nutrients. The research was conducted to determine the most optimal method that could produce the highest yield value and the lowest humidity value. The methodology used is to make thin slices (chips) which are then dried by exposing the chips to the sun. Then when dry, the chips are then blended to get the powder. The extraction process was carried out at a temperature of 45 °C and 55 °C for 60 minutes with a certain ratio. The results showed that the ratio of Porang tubers with 1: 300 to solvent at 55 ° C was the optimal extraction method to get KGM.
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