The utilization of local chili variety of Saha Isu as toiletries in West Nusa Tenggara

Abstract

Chili is commonly used as spice, seasoning, and could help health promoting. Interestingly, a local variety (Saha Isu) from Bima District has been preferred for toiltetries material by indigenous people because of beneficial for headache therapy. The study aimed to know the use of a local chile variety of Saha Isu as toiletries by Bimanese. This study is a qualitative research technique which was done by interview on local people/community and observation of Saha Isu variety in Mpuri Village. These chili have been cultivated from generation to generation decades ago and not distributed yet to other places. In this village, chili was used as shampoo and body scrub material by smoothing and mixing it with grated coconut and a little water. The filtered liquid and remaining dregs were used as shampoo and body scrub, respectively. Total pieces of chili used usually in odd numbers depending on to spiciness level accepted and the availability. In addition to man health, this chili is good for pregnant women and after delivering baby to help control their blood pressure. Based on morphology, Saha Isu has strong spicy-aroma of fruit, dark green young fruit and turned to orange on mature fruit. This preliminary observation need further research on biochemical compound and molecular characterization to enrich the reference about Saha Isu information This traditional knowledge of Saha Isu is important for genetic resources preservation and conservation, and should be a part of activity and responded by institutional participation in Indonesia.