The instructional design of ethnoscience-based inquiry learning for scientific explanation about Taxus sumatrana as cancer medication

Abstract

The ethnoscience approach is carried out by integrating local wisdom culture in science learning. The Minang community believes that the Taxus sumatrana plant is a cancer drug. But they have not been able to explain its benefits conceptually based on scientific inquiry with relevant references. This study aims to solve these problems through (1) designing ethnoscience-based inquiry learning to study the bioactivity of Taxus sumatrana; and (2) describe scientific experiments on plants as cancer drugs. This research includes qualitative research to reconstruct scientific explanations based on local wisdom. The data were obtained through observations at the research location regarding community local wisdom and laboratory activities including isolation, phytochemical identification, and chemical structure testing using Perkin Elmer 100 FT-IR spectroscopy. All data obtained were analyzed and corroborated by various relevant sources. The results of the analysis concluded that the appropriate learning design was an integrated model; and secondary metabolites found in the bark and leaves of Taxus sumatrana were tested using water, ethanol, ethanol + n-hexane, and ethanol + benzene as solvents, including terpenoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, steroids, phenolics, and saponins. The results showed that Taxus sumatrana can act as an anticancer because in the experimental laboratory it is known that terpenoids as taxols, phenolics, and other oxygenated metabolites which have the potential to be anticancer