Utilization of Local Plant: Beluntas Leaves (Pluchea indica Leaves) to Enhance Breast Milk Production
Main Article Content
Abstract
Breast milk plays a crucial role in infant growth and maternal health; however, some mothers experience insufficient production due to physiological, psychological, and nutritional factors. A promising alternative to address this issue is the use of local plants with galactagogue properties, which stimulate milk production. This community service activity aimed to support breastfeeding mothers through health education with a counseling method on the importance of breastfeeding, an explanation of the benefits of beluntas leaves (Pluchea indica), and a demonstration of their preparation by boiling. The results of this activity show that the majority of the 84 respondents (91.67%) felt the benefits of the counseling and demonstration on processing beluntas leaves. Evaluation results indicated that participants showed improved understanding of breastfeeding benefits and expressed interest in trying beluntas consumption at home as a natural method to increase milk supply. The integration of health education, scientific explanation, and practical demonstration effectively enhanced both knowledge and motivation among mothers. Therefore, the utilization of beluntas leaves has the potential to serve as a simple, applicable, and community-based intervention to promote increased breast milk production.
Downloads
Article Details
Copyright (c) 2026 Iin Prima Fitriah, Mardiani Bebasari, Bunga Meilizayosa, Athifa Zuharani, Salsabila Febriwandi

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
References
Astria, N., Usman, I., Hutabarat, S., & N. (2025). Local plants as natural galactagogues in an effort to increase breast milk production: An exploratory study in Kapuk Merangin Village. Journal of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) , 4(2) , 35–41.
Darmawan, R., Hidayati, S., & Pratama, R. (2021). Phytochemical screening and galactagogue activity of Pluchea indica leaves. Indonesian Journal of Pharmacy , 32(1) , 45–52. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.14499/indojpharm32i1.457
Grzeskowiak, LE, Lim, SW, Thomas, J., & Forder, P. (2021). Use and experiences of galactagogues during breastfeeding among Australian women. 16(6) , e0252338. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252338
Hidayah, N., Nuraini, L., & Dewi, K. (2023). Practice-based health education to support the success of exclusive breastfeeding. Journal of Community Health Services , 5(1) , 11–20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22219/jpkmk.v5i1.1167
Kusmiyati, Y., & Purnama, D. (2020). Factors that influence breast milk production in breastfeeding mothers. Journal of Maternal and Child Health , 8 (1) , 45–52. https://doi.org/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Faktor-faktor+yang+memengaruhi+produksi+ASI+pada+ibu+menyusui&author=Kusmiyati&author=Purnama&publication_year=2020
Lumbanraja, P., Siregar, M., & Lubis, F. (2018). The effectiveness of torbangun leaves (Coleus amboinicus) as a natural galactagogue. Indonesian Medical Journal , 51(1) , 37–43. https://doi.org/https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Effectiveness+of+torbangun+leaves+as+galactagogue&author=Lumbanraja&publication_year=2018
McBride, C., Weber, S., & Chan, S. (2021). Cultural practices and herbal galactagogues in Southeast Asia. Journal of Human Lactation , 37(3) , 521–530. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334421993365
Nugraheni, D., Suryati, E., & Yuliani, R. (2019). The effect of consuming katuk leaves on breast milk production. Indonesian Journal of Midwifery. , 10(2) , 78–84. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.36419/jki.v10i2.267
Patel, S., Sharma, V., & Chauhan, N.S. (2020). Galactagogues from medicinal plants: A review. Phytotherapy Research , 34(1) , 51–67. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.6490
Rahmawati, A., Suryani, E., & Pratiwi, A. (2021). The impact of exclusive breastfeeding on infant growth. Journal of Health Sciences , 9(2) , 120–129. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.33086/jik.v9i2.2057
Susanti, D., Wahyuni, S., & Fitri, A. (2020). The effectiveness of the demonstration method in improving exclusive breastfeeding practices. Andalas Public Health Journal , 14(2) , 75–83. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25077/jkma.v14i2.650
Syarif, RA, Anggorowati, N., Yuniyanti, MM, Adyaksa, DNM, & Wahyuningsih, MSH (2023). Lactogenic activity of ethanolic extract of Pluchea indica Less leaf in lactating rats. Journal of Herbmed Pharmacology, 12(3) , 380–387. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.34172/jhp.2023.41
Tan, KL, Thia, YC, & Ng, CJ (2022). Use of herbal galactagogues in Southeast Asia: A community-based survey. International Journal of Breastfeeding , 17(1) , 42. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-022-00489-1
Torbangun leaf extract (Plectranthus amboinicus (Lour.) Spreng). (2024). Leaf extract increases the expression of lactation-related genes in human breast epithelial cells MCF-12A. Indonesian Journal of Food Science and Technology , 3(2) , 137–143. https://online-journal.unja.ac.id/ifstj/article/view/37364
World Health Organization. (2021). Infant and young child feeding. WHO . https://doi.org/https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/infant-and-young-child-feeding
Iin Prima Fitriah