Revealing the other use of red dragon fruit that contains high fiber

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Illustration by Feri Fenoria

UNAIR NEWS – The use of alternative feed from agro-industrial by-products (industrial waste) needs to be further studied as a way to reduce agricultural waste. Furthermore, this industrial waste contains good nutrition and its use can reduce the cost of feed production and environmental impact.

The industrial waste in Banyuwangi area is red dragon fruit waste (Hylocereus polyrhizus). For this phenomenon, drh. Ragil Angga Prastiya M.Si, with Dr. Mohammad Anam Al Arif MP., Drh, drh. Bodhi Agustono, M.Si, and her student Fachrun Nisa ‘Tatimma conducted extensive research to reveal the nutrients contained in the red dragon fruit waste.

“The red dragon fruit peel contains quite high fiber, so when it is applied as pseudoruminant animal feed, in this case rabbit, it is appropriate. Pseudoruminant is a type of animal that requires a lot of fiber to process feed in its digestive system,” explained the lecturer of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (FKH).

The lecturer known well as Ragil added, the waste of dragon fruit peel was obtained from the southern Banyuwangi area. The process of making this fiber source from the peel of the dragon fruit is started with sun drying for ± 12 hours to reduce the water content contained around 20-25%.

After it is dried, she continued, it was fermented and stored for 2 weeks before it was formed into powder. This powder will be used as a source of fiber in the rabbit feed ration.

“To complement the nutritional value of feed provided (complete feed), a powdered fiber source is added with other additional nutrients such as protein, minerals, and vitamins. Then it is steamed and formed into pellets, ” she said.

Red dragon fruit peel added to feed in this study were 0% (RDP0), 7% (RDP7), 8% (RDP8), and 9% (RDP9) given for four weeks. The results showed that red dragon fruit peel can be used as a dietary supplement up to 9% without reducing the nutritional value and nutritional digestibility of rabbits.

“My team’s research are working with Rabbitry in the Banyuwangi area with a good response from them, in the future I will develop the potential of this red dragon fruit peel as an alternative to feed rations. In addition to its fiber, the content of dragon fruit waste contains antioxidants such as flavonoids, tannins and quite high, ” she concluded.

Author: Dian Putri Apriliani

Editor : Nuri Hermawan

Link : http://ivj.org.in/users/members/viewarticles.aspx?ArticleView=1&ArticleID=9179

Ragil A.P., M.A. Al-Arif, F.N.Tatimma, and B. Agustono. 2019. Red Dragon Fruit Peel (Hylocereus polyrhizus) in Rabbit Nutrition. Indian Veterinary Journal, 96(10): 36-38

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