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Alugbati: A Cost-Effective Ink Alternative

Alugbati, also known as Malabar spinach, is a vine that is commonly grown for its leaves and shoots in many parts of Asia and Africa. Its fruits have traditionally been used as ink in China and the Philippines. Research shows that alugbati has potential as an alternative and organic ink for printers due to its high anthocyanin content and lower cost compared to typical inks. The Philippine government is studying commercial production of ink extracted from alugbati fruits. As an invasive species in some areas, alugbati can grow quickly if not properly managed in cultivation.

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Kim Maynard Aquino
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166 views1 page

Alugbati: A Cost-Effective Ink Alternative

Alugbati, also known as Malabar spinach, is a vine that is commonly grown for its leaves and shoots in many parts of Asia and Africa. Its fruits have traditionally been used as ink in China and the Philippines. Research shows that alugbati has potential as an alternative and organic ink for printers due to its high anthocyanin content and lower cost compared to typical inks. The Philippine government is studying commercial production of ink extracted from alugbati fruits. As an invasive species in some areas, alugbati can grow quickly if not properly managed in cultivation.

Uploaded by

Kim Maynard Aquino
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

In today’s new generation, around every corner high-technologies are present


especially computers which are a vital part of our modern world. Combined with printers which
can lessen our workload in papers all over the world. But, ink is one of the main components of
the printer without it the printer is useless. Using Alugbati we can save more because it is
organic and its cost is less than the ink that we usually use. (Nildo Magalang Olivero, 2012)
Alugbati, known in the U.S. as Malabar spinach, is commonly grown for its soft,
spinach-like leaves and shoots. Alugbati is of African and East Asian origin. The juice of the fruits
was reportedly used in ancient China as ink for official seals. It can be found in settled areas,
hedges, and cultivated areas throughout the Philippines. Alugbati has a great potential to use as
an alternative marker ink due to its advantages. Alugbati is also known to have high
Anthocyanin content and is highly recommend for ink production. Today, the fruits of the red-
stemmed alugbati variety can be used to make ink. As of May 2010, the government of the
Philippines is researching the commercial production of ink extracted from the alugbati fruits.
(Darci Pauser, 2017)
Alugbati (Basella alba) is particularly popular in Africa and Asia. You may not know
this vegetable as alugbati, though, as this is its common Filipino name. According to a January
2014 review in the Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science, English names for this plant
include Malabar spinach, Ceylon spinach, Chinese spinach, Indian spinach, vine spinach,
climbing spinach, and cyclone spinach.
Basella alba (Malabar Spinach) is an edible perennial vine in the family
Basellaceae. It’s also known as Alugbati in the Philippines which is a herbaceous, perennial vine
cultivated as a leafy vegetable and ornamental in tropical and subtropical and occasionally
extending into temperate regions as an annual. The species is considered an invasive species in
Cambodia, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Hawaii, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, French Polynesia,
Palau, Papua New Guinea, and the US Minor Outlying Islands. Although no details of its
invasiveness are provided, Alugbati can grow rampantly in ideal conditions and can become
invasive if not properly managed when it is in cultivation. Given that species reproduces easily,
by seeds and vegetatively, and grows quickly. It is native to the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast
Asia, and New Guinea. It is reportedly naturalized in China, tropical Africa, Brazil, Belize,
Colombia, the West Indies, Fiji, and French Polynesian.
Reference:
 https://www.academia.edu/31597881/Alugbati_Final_Proposal
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basella_alba
 https://ourpastimes.com/make-ink-alugbati-6524991.html

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