The Effects of Different Concentrations of Caffeine on Daphnia magna Heart Rates

Abstract

Daphnia magna mimic vertebraic properties of cardiac muscle, which can be used to reflect the possibilities of heart tissue implantation in humans and action potentials. The problem lies in the unpredictability of variables that influence the acceptability of new heart tissue, such as drugs, diet, or disease. Because these factors can affect the consistency of heart rate, we tested to see if greater concentrations of caffeine yield greater changes in heart rate and stimulates action potentials. By applying caffeine concentrations of 0.0%, 0.5%, and 1.0% to Daphnia under a microscope and measuring their final and initial heart rate, we calculated the change in heart rate and investigated how their action potentials were affected. Our results showed that there was no significant difference in the changing heart rates due to caffeine concentrations despite its stimulant properties, which can be used for further experimentation regarding size or controllability of caffeine on tissue implantation.