Project Title: Design of Sustainable Nutrient-Rich Foods Based on Mangrove Apple (Sonneratia alba)

with Improved Functionality by Sungkai (Peronema canescens) Extract Enrichment

Project Acronym: M-Apple S+

Timeline: Year of 2024 (proposal submission), Year of 2025 – 2027 (project conduct)

Brief Introduction to the E-Asia JRP: The e-ASIA Joint Research Program (the E-Asia JRP) is a
multinational collaborative research program that joined by several Asian countries and allies to
promote collaboration amongst countries involved to conduct research to address problem and
challenges in certain topics. One of the topics open for funding this year (2024) is functional food. The
participating countries in the topic via their respective related institution are Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Myanmar, Philippines, and Thailand. Please find more information about e-ASIA JRP at the following link
https://www.the-easia.org/jrp/

Project General Description: The project is planned to provide and promote a new source of food based
on local plant, the mangrove apple (Sonneratia alba) with improved functionality by sungkai (Peronema
canescens) leaf extract enrichment. The food is expected to fulfill the nutritional needs of local
communities and give them health benefits from the beneficial secondary metabolites contained in both
plants. The food innovation is not only intended to fulfil nutritional needs, but also expected to give a
new livelihood to communities, moreover those who are close to mangrove forests. Thus, maximize the
use of local natural resources for the community prosperity. Besides that, for scientific accountability the
project is also aimed to produce several scientific publications in the form of journal articles. The project
will involve early career researchers and students to provide more chances for them to gain experience
that is important for their future career development. This multinational project is also expected to open
a new network for researchers in the related fields and strengthen the communication and network
between them. By the connection, problems in the future that might commonly face by their countries,
especially that related to the topic, could be discussed and solved faster, thus enhancing the constructive
cooperative amongst the research group, and the countries in a bigger scope. The memorandum of
understanding and other necessary legal documents related to the collaborative project will be arranged
upon the approval of the project.

About the Initiator Research Team: The initiator research team is led by Dr. Madyawati Latief. She is an
associate professor at the University of Jambi, Indonesia. Her expertise is in organic chemistry,
specifically natural products and her research primarily focuses on bioactivities discoveries from
Indonesian plants, especially from the province of Jambi. The other members of the initiator team are
Indra L. Tarigan and M. Irhash Shalihin. They are lecturers at the University of Jambi and their current
research focuses are the same as Dr. Madyawati Latief.

Dr. Madywati Latief, S.P., M.Si.

Last education: Doctoral at the Padjadjaran University, Indonesia.

Indra Lasmana Tarigan, S.Pd., M.Sc.

Last education: Master at the National Central University, Taiwan.

M. Irhash Shalihin, S.Si., MCS.

Last education: Master at the University of Pennsylvania, United States of America.