Pengaruh mengunyah Apel Fuji (Malus Domestica) dan Bengkuang (Pachyrhizus Erosus) terhadap laju Alir Saliva

Abstract

Nowadays traditional foods are replaced by fast food, which is modern lifestyle that will impact unbalanced nutritional intake. WHO recommends good fiber intake of 25-30 grams a day. The average dietary fiber intake of the Indonesian population is only 10,5 grams a day, indicating that it is still about one-third of the ideal. Chewing fibrous foods like fruits can stimulate salivary flow rate as self cleansing in the oral cavity. Objective: to analyze the effect of chewing, shape description, and fiber structure of Fuji Apple and Jicama on salivary flow rate. Method: pre-experiment using one group pretest-posttest design. Two treatments were given to 18 subjects on different days. Saliva was collected before, 10th minutes, and 30th minutes after chewing Fuji Apple and Jicama. Salivary flow rate was measured by weighing collected saliva divided by time. Results: there was significant difference in salivary flow rate before – 10th minutes, 10th – 30th minutes, and before – 30th minutes after chewing Fuji Apple and Jicama (p<0.05). Structure characterization of Fuji Apple based on SEM tests has a bumpy surface, while Jicama has various kinds of starch grains. The EDX tests showed that oxygen in Fuji Apple was 70,99% and Jicama was 73,44%. Histological tests showed Fuji Apple were arranged like a honeycomb pattern, while Jicama looks like a square. Conclusion: there was no significant difference in two treatments (p>0.05). From the average of two treatments, Fuji Apple (0,67) was better than Jicama (0,63) in increasing salivary flow rate.