Pilkada amidst a pandemic: The role of the electronic word of mouth in political brand and voting intention

The Regional Head Election campaign frequently uses electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) communication because of social media's growth and the Covid-19 pandemic that took place during the election year. In commercial brands, eWOM impact has influence brand equity and purchase decisions. However, in political brands, this has not been proven. Therefore, by using the regional head candidate of Purbalingga Regency as a political brand, this study examines the effect of eWOM on developing candidate brand equity and relates it to voting intention. Brand equity using a brand pyramid model with brand equity forming variables consisting of a candidate brand awareness, a candidate brand performance-imagery, a candidate brand judgment-feelings, and a candidate brand resonance. The study involved 260 respondents who are people of Purbalingga Regency who may vote and use social media. The sampling method used was purposive sampling by conducting direct interviews with respondents. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Model Partial Least Square (SEM PLS) analysis. The results showed that electronic Word of Mouth has a positive and significant effect on brand equity development variables. Developing brand equity affects the voting intention on candidate brand awareness and candidate brand resonance. The Result of this study found electronic Word of Mouth to have no direct influence on voting intention. © 2021 Universitas Gadjah Mada -A Faculty of Social and Political Sciences. All Rights Reserved.

Recent strategies for improving solubility and oral bioavailability of piperine

Piperine, the main bioactive compound found in black pepper (Piper nigrum L.), has long been used in Ayurveda and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This compound has remarkable potential pharmacological properties, including being anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, anticonvulsant, antidepressant, neuroprotective, and hepatoprotective. Recent studies have reported piperine activity as an antiviral against SARS-CoV-2, which caused COVID-19. Nevertheless, the clinical use of piperine is still limited, due to its poor water solubility and bioavailability;therefore, various approaches have been developed in order to solve these limitations. This review summarises recent studies (i.e. uploaded to electronic databases in the last 10 y) regarding strategies that have been investigated to improve piperine’s solubility and pharmacokinetic properties, using ‘piperine’, ‘solubility’, ‘bioavailability’, and ‘formulation’ as keywords. Articles that have focused on piperine as the main compound were selected and sorted based on their modification and formulation types. Studies reported various approaches: from derivatives and analogue synthesis, crystal engineering, complexation, particle size reduction (micro-and nanonisation), and lipid-and polymer-based drug delivery systems, to inorganic and hybrid nanoparticles. This review also highlights limitations and challenges for these approaches and encourages further studies to optimise piperine’s potential benefits.