Water lizard meat, apparently still consumed by some people. Some consider, the meat can maintain stamina and can treat shortness of breath. In fact, some believe, reptile meat is a panacea that can increase the vitality of men.

At the end of the alley of Jalan Jamin Ginting, Medan, North Sumatra (North Sumatra), there was the sound of people singing the Batak Boru Panggoaran song, which was popularized by Victor Hutabarat. This location is a tuak stall, the people of Medan usually call it Lopo Tuak.

For tuak drinkers, it is incomplete if you drink tuak without sweetener called term embankment. Usually the stall owner serves grilled meat or fish. However, on certain days, there is a special dish, water monitor lizards.

Animals that live on the outskirts of the river flow are usually purchased from several animal hunters. Usually, they circulate around Jalan Padang Bulan Medan.

"Monitor lizard meat, besides being good can also maintain stamina. My sister, who also has asthma, has eaten this meat for six months, "said Hendrik Sitinjak (47), a man whose daily activities are as an agent for sweet spice wood. Hendrik is one of ten people sitting in the shop.

Is that Hendrik's statement? Or is it just a myth?

Coordinator of the Sumatra Region Reptile Amphibious Association, told Mongabay Indonesia, in Medan the water monitor species are still spread evenly. This is because Medan, many are crossed by large rivers, one of which is Deli River.

"Some time ago, it appeared at a residential area. This is because the rainfall is quite high, so these animals appear in the ditch, "he explained recently.

He explained, this type of reptile likes fish so that it becomes the main enemy of pond fish businessmen. Hunting is quite often done by trapping or using a ring because it is considered a pest.

This unprotected animal is a predator that is a balance of natural ecosystems. In the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES, 2013), he entered the Appendix II list, which means that it is not endangered. However, there is a possibility of being threatened with extinction if trade continues without regulation.

"However, there must be arrangements related to taking quota in nature. This is because, there are those who take the meat to eat for tasting, and there are also those who think of it as a patent drug, "explained Fajar.

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In Indonesia, it is estimated that there are four species of monitor lizards. There are water monitor lizards (V. salvator) spread across Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and Maluku; mangrove lizards (V. indicus), scattered in Papua; komodo (V. komodoensis) on Komodo Island; and peacock lizards (V. auffenbergi) on Rote Island (Koch and Acciaioli, 2007).

Idawati and her team, researching water monitor lizards on their digestive organs, which are organs used to digest, absorb and release food that is no longer needed by the body. In addition to the digestive organs, there are also accessory organs, which help digest the food, both mechanically and enzymatically.

Salivary gland is one of the accessory organs in the digestive system. This gland, produces sekreta in the form of saliva which functions to wet and soften dry food. That is, the media to break down and dilute food ingredients, maintain pH in the oral cavity, break down carbohydrates, and as an antibacterial agent.

One of the important elements contained in saliva is antibacterial glycoprotein compounds. Like, lysozyme and lactoferrin that make saliva as a deterrent to the entry of bacteria into the digestive tract.

"Complex carbohydrates, also called glyconjonjugates, have an important role in various processes in the body of this water monitor. Such as intercellular attachment and communication, cell regeneration and differentiation and as a constituent material for cell matrix and sekreta gland.