The Feasibility of Utillizing Basella Rubra

People nowadays use alugbati nightshade leaves for cooking and throw away the stems. Instead of throwing the stems, why not investigate a product from utilizing Basella Rubra (Alugbati) stems that will be a great help to the industry. Utilizing the stems of Basella Rubra is also practical and economical for the users. This kind of plant is abundant even found in backyards here in our country. It has spread throughout the tropical countries and one of the best tropical spinach widely adapted to a variety of soils and climates. Malabar n. has thicker tender stems. It is a good source of vitamins A, C and iron. The researchers decided to make Alugbati stems as a skin moisturizer because it possesses that commercial moisturizers have like: emollients. This helps the skin to be moisturized and soften. This study aims to produce and attempts to discover the capability of alugbati stems as a substitute for commercial skin moisturizer. It also aims to produce product that is less expensive and acceptable for people who has skin problems. Significance of the Study: This study is significant especially to persons that has a problem on dryness of the skin because they don’t have to buy an expensive skin moisturizer for there is already a substitute to it that is cheaper and environmentally friendly product. Statement of the Problem: Is it possible to make a skin moisturizer out of alugbati stems? Are there any properties of alugbati stems that can be used as a skin moisturizer? Hypothesis: It is possible to make a skin moisturizer out of alugbati stems and there are also properties of alugbati stems that can be used as a skin moisturizer. Materials and Equipments: The materials that will be use are clean containers, strainer, mortar and pestle, Alugbati stem, Glycerin, and perfume oil. Variables: The independent variables are: (1) Water (2) amount of Glycerin and (3) amount of perfume oil while the dependent variable is the Basella Rubra (Alugbati) stem. Procedures: The procedures in making a skin moisturizer out of alugbati stems are: (1) Wash the alugbati stem and sterilize the containers to be use. (2) Peeling the skin of the stem of alugbati using knifes or hands. 3) Pounding of the stem of the alugbati using the mortar and pestle. (4) Add a little amount of water then pound again until it becomes subtle. (5) Strain to separate the extract and the stem. (6) Cool it aside. (7) Add glycerin that will make it a moisturizer and perfume oil to enhance its fragrance. Review of Related Literature: Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and which has a high boiling poi nt. Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils. On the other hand, many things will dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. So it is a good solvent. Glycerin is also highly â€Å"hygroscopic† which means that it absorbs water from the air. Example: if you left a bottle of pure glycerin exposed to air in your kitchen, it would take moisture from the air and eventually, it would become 80 per glycerin and 20 percent water. Because of this hygroscopic quality, pure, 100 percent glycerin placed on the tongue may raise a blister, since it is dehydrating. Diluted with water, however, it will soften your skin. While people say this softening is the result of the glycerin attracting moisture to your skin, there is heated debate as to whether or not the glycerin has some other properties all its own which are helpful to the skin. Summed up, the current thinking is â€Å"We know glycerin softens the skin. Some people think its because it attracts moisture, but there could be other reasons. † Glycerin has lots of uses besides being used to make nitroglycerin (note: glycerin is not an explosive substance by itself. It has to be turned into nitroglycerin before it becomes explosive, so it’s safe to work with in your kitchen). Some uses for glycerin include: conserving preserved fruit, as a base for lotions, to prevent freezing in hydraulic jacks, to lubricate molds, in some printing inks, in cake and candy making, and (because it has an antiseptic quality) sometimes to preserve scientific specimens in jars in your high school biology lab. http://pioneerthinking. com/crafts/what-is-glycerin Moisturizers or emollients are complex mixtures of chemical agents specially designed to make the external layers of the skin (epidermis) softer and more pliable. They increase the skin's hydration (water content) by reducing evaporation. Naturally occurring skin lipids and sterols, as well as artificial or natural oils, humectants, emollients, lubricants, etc. , may be part of the composition of commercial skin moisturizers. They usually are available as commercial products for cosmetic and therapeutic uses, but can also be made at home using common pharmacy ingredients. Moisturizers prevent and treat dry skin, protect sensitive skin, improve skin tone and texture, and mask imperfections. ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Emollient Alugbati is a plant used a vegetable. It is rich in calcium, Vitamin B (Thiamine, Niacin & Riboflavin) and Vitamin C. It is a laxative and has soluble fiber that acts like magnet to ingested fat and subsequently reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Regularly eating alugbati will help reduce degenerative disease. Red alugbati has the added property of higher amounts of xanthones, an antioxidant. It can also impro ve and regularlize bowel movement. B-complex vitamins help improve blood vessel strength. http://gonatural. com. ph/herbalblog/alugbati-scientific-name-basella-alba-basella-rubra-linn/ Alugbati is a succulent, branched, smooth, twining herbaceous vine, several meters in length. Stems are purplish or green. Leaves are somewhat fleshy, ovate or heart-shaped, 5 to 12 centimeters long, stalked, tapering to a pointed tip with a cordate base. Spikes are axillary, solitary, 5 to 29 centimeters long. Flowers are pink, about 4 millimeters long. Fruit is fleshy, stalkless, ovoid or nearly spherical, 5 to 6 millimeters long, and purple when mature. Constituents †¢ Phytochemical screening of various extracts yielded cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins, flavonoids, terpenoids, carbohydrates, and reducing sugars. †¢ Study isolated Basellasaponins A, B, C, and D, oleanane-type triterpenes oligoglycosides, together with betavulgaroside 1, spinacoside C, and momordins IIb and IIc, from fresh aerial parts. †¢ Leaves yield saponin, vitamin A and B. †¢ Fruit yields mucilage and iron. Study of wild Basella rubra showed it to be abundant in carotene, middle in vitamin C, and low in nitrate. Nitrate in planted B. rubra is about twice that of the wild variety. Properties †¢ Aperient, demulcent, diuretic, emollient, laxative, rubefacient. †¢ Mucilaginous when cooked. Uses Edibility / Nutrition – Common market product, a popular leafy and stew vegetable, and a good substitute for spinach. – The green and purple cultivated varieties are preferable to the wild ones. – Both the young shoots and stems are eaten.