Good day to all of us!

We are students from and we are here to present what our group has
researched for.

Philippines, as we all know, is a cradle of massive and rich biodiversity. Not only it enriches the
environment, it also helps in sustaining the entire ecosystem. With this abundant source of species,
which some of it is native to us, one can truly explore many kinds of organism present here in our
surroundings. In addition to that, we, Filipinos, won’t be able to exhaust the things or organisms to
research for here in our country.

Unfortunately, even our well-known species or organisms that lived with us or have been part
of our daily lives, are actually poorly researched. That is just what our group perceived. With our
thorough searching for organisms to be used for our Thesis, our group came to the conclusion of
utilizing Calamus merrilli or famously known as Rattan, but in local community it actually called Palasan.

Rattan is known for its strength and durability so it is not surprisingly employed as a furniture
since it’s the main attribute in order for something to be a furniture . Many researches have already
made regarding this famous property of the plant. Actually, that’s our initial plan in terms of dissecting
thoroughly this kind of plant, in its strength aspect, because it is what it is notable for. But our group
sought for another facet of this Rattan. We were able to discover that it was also being eaten by local
communities in the country of Laos. Malaysia, and some other Southeast Asian nation. It is like a
delicacy in a village. The edible part of Rattan is its shoot. Young shoot to be precise. Because,as it
matures, it hardens, and that material is what the furniture industry is operating on. So we’ve come up
with an idea of what are its benefits to the human body. Although it is practiced to be a food source in
other country, the exploration about its nutritional benefits is not widely exercised.

After a lot of time spending on reading various reference materials, our group divulged on the
topic of prebiotics. I assume that many of you have already heard this kind of thing, to be clear it is
different from probiotics. Probiotics pertains to beneficial microorganisms found in human gut
microbiota, while prebiotics are referred to as indigestible fibers that can survive through
gastrointestinal juices and able to reach the colon where it can stimulate the growth of probiotics. In
short, it is like a food for beneficial bacteria. In order for a thing to be qualified as a prebiotic. First, it
must withstand gastrointestinal enzymes and with that can reach through the colon, Second it
stimulates the rowth of beneficial bacteria and third it hinders the growth of harmful bacteria. So now
that we are able to close out ideas about our research, what did we do next?

Our group then searched for bacteria that we can utilize for our research. We decided to pick 4
beneficial bacteria and 1 undesirable bacterial species found in human microbiota. The beneficial
bacterial species that we’ve chosen are Lactobacillus plantanum, lactobacillus paracasei, and
Streptococcus plantanum. The undesirable bacterial specie that we’ve chosen is E.coli.

After that we gather materials that we need for our research. We seek help from universities for
laboratory usage. Then we performed tests to our subjects.
 Our group presupposed that the plant fiber will be able to withstand the gastrointestinal
enzymes since it is a plant fiber and well-known for its durability. Another thing is that its fiber
properties have been backed up by many researches. In addition to that, we tried also to locate here in
our country the availability of the device where we can subject our Rattan extracts to in-vitro human
gastrointestinal environment but unfortunately we were not able to.

So our group sifts through related literature regarding our topic and fortunately we were able to
confirm that it has the ability to sustain itself while making its way to the gastrointestinal enzymes
present in our stomach and intestines.

After that our group continue on working with microbes. We test if it will stimulate the growth
of beneficial bacteria as well as the suppression of the growth in undesirable bacterium. We also
undergo DPPH testing, it is for antioxidant presence, and phytochemical analysis. Our group is looking
on the lowest possible amount of extract where it can stimulate the microbes and inhibit the harmful
bacteria.

The results are not what our group had pre-implied before. It actually inhibits the growth of
microbes present in our study. It may look like a head-scratcher, but our group were able to see the light
despite its unexpected outcome. It has the ability to restrain the growth of lactic acid bacteria. As we all
know, lactic acid bacteria is what causes food spoilage. Another thing is that it also inhibits as well the
growth of harmful bacteria.Definitely, It has antimicrobial properties.

Furthermore, our group also discovered that it has antioxidant presence and that actually means
it has the ability to alleviate the damage by the oxidants in our body. Our group also sees this angle as
the reason for its inhibition of the growth of bacteria because through thorough reading we were able
to identify that antioxidants has the ability to counteract the deterioration of stored food products
which the bacteria, we all know, is one of the main causes in terms of spoiling food products. This would
be truly helpful in the food industry. Another thing is that it would be significant to local communities
here in the Philippines, it can be an actual food source and somehow alleviates malnutrition. This
practice of eating the Rattan shoot here in our country is not well-known since most of the Filipino
minds when talking about Rattan is constituted to furniture making. With this research, we can expand
more the uses of Rattan and its beneficial effects in the community. After all, many in the Rattan
industry is transforming into synthetic Rattan furniture making. Actually the Rattan is present all over
our surroundings. It is easy to propagate and has the ability to thrive through harsh conditions. Truly, it
is time for us to think broadly when dealing with these kind of aspects.

To end my talk there is one last thing I want to point out. Definitely, this particular field of
research needs to be further examined and explored. With this kind of research in its infancy, our group
won’t be able to fully comprehend the processes underlying the results that we were able to gather. To
further explain my point, our group is kind of hopeful and optimistic that these kind of researches will
somehow open up ideas about the potentialities of some of our own indigenous plants. It is actually a
good thing that we focus on technological advancements and researches in order to make our lives
easier to handle right and to make things more productive. But I think as a country with rich biodiversity,
we should not neglect the potency of various organisms present in our country. The youth, the Filipino
youth in particular, calls for the expansion of knowledge regarding these indigenous plants. After all, our
nation is an agricultural country, why don’t we step back to appreciate the surroundings and our God-
given environment, look for common things present in our backyards. In that we can be able to know
more about the things we are living with.

Our opulent ecosystem has a lot of things that it can promise to the future development of our
country, so why do not we utilize, develop, and nurture our plentiful domain, ultimately, that is what
our country has been desi