Effects of Drugs on
Daphnia
Michelle Dilgard
Undergraduate Student
Education Major
Biology Concentration
Tennessee Technological University
Cookeville, TN 38505
Project Summary
• Problem: How do drugs effect Heart Rate?
• Using Daphnia is more appropriate
• Through the performing of an experiment
Introduction and Background
• Daphnia
– Water Flea (Wong, 1997)
• Many studies have been done previously
• Drugs to be used
– Caffeine (Foster, 1997)
– Nicotine
– Alcohol
– Ibuprofen (Cluevers, 2003)
Benefits
• This experiment will show not only the
effects of these drugs on Daphnia but also
what they similarly do to the human body
when it is exposed.
• Daphnia are used as a humane alternative
to Humans when performing this type of
experiment.
Objective
• I will observe the changes in heart rate of
Daphnia when exposed to Caffeine,
Ibuprofen, Alcohol, and Nicotine. I will
have several separate samples of Daphnia
in my study. Each community will be
exposed to a different drug and observe
how the heart rate of the Daphnia changes
accordingly.
Hypothesis
• I believe the Daphnia heart rate will
increase when the Daphnia are exposed
to Caffeine and Nicotine. I believe the
Daphnia heart rate will decrease and slow
down when the Daphnia are exposed to
Ibuprofen and Alcohol.
Methods
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Label containers
Place Daphnia on slide
Record Heart Rate
Add experimental solution
Record new heart rate
Repeat
Data Form
Materials
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Water
Depression Slides
Cover slips
Droppers
Daphnia Magna
Microscope
Watch
• Petri Dishes
• Daphnia Anatomy
Chart
• Cigarettes
• 80 proof vodka
• No-dos
• Ibuprofen tablets
Expected Results
• I expect that the Daphnia’s heart rates will
increase with Nicotine and Caffeine
because both of these drugs are
stimulants.
• I also expect that the Daphnia’s heart
rates will decrease with Alcohol and
Ibuprofen solution.
Actual Results
• I found that the Daphnia’s heart rate
would:
– Greatly increase with Caffeine
• Increase of between 10 and 20 beats per minute
– Slightly increase with Alcohol
• Increase of between 5 to 10 beats per minute
– Remain about the same with Nicotine and
Ibuprofen
• No significant change could be found
Actual Results
Normal
w/Caffeine
250
w/Alcohol
200
84
100
89
80
102
85
86
105
90
88
109
91
82
109
88
84
103
85
150
w/Caffeine
100
Normal
50
0
1
3
5
7
9
200
150
90
110
93
86
106
89
80
90
84
84
88
87
w/Alcohol
100
Normal
50
0
1
3
5
7
9
Discussion
• My results were confirmed with other
findings in Articles such as:
– “Does Caffeine Effect the Heart Rate of
Daphnia” by Gerald Adams
– “Kava Decreases the Heart Rate of Daphnia”
by Jasmine Kamai
– “Pharmacologic responses of Daphnia
Magna” by Torald Sollmann and Walter Webb
Conclusion
In conclusion I have determined that the heart rate of
Daphnia can be affected by adding different drugs.
Daphnia heart rate increased by ten to twenty beats per
minute when exposed to Caffeine. Daphnia heart rate
increased by five to ten beats per minute when
exposed to Alcohol.
Unfortunately the results for Ibuprofen and Nicotine
could not be seen. There was not enough evidence
to determine how the Heart rate changed when the
Daphnia were exposed to Ibuprofen and Nicotine.
By doing this experiment it can be assumed that the
some of the same reactions could be found if Humans
are exposed to these Drugs.
Works Cited
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Campbell, Anthony K., Kenneth T. Wann, and Stephanie B. Matthews. 2004. Lactose
causes heart arrhythmia in the water flea Daphnia pulex. Comparative
Biochemistry and physiological Part B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 139:
225-234.
Cluevers, Michael. 2004. Mixture toxicity of the anti-inflammatory drugs diclofenac,
ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetylsalicylic acid. Exotoxicology an Environmental
Safety 59: 309-315.
Foster, Rachel. 1997. A stroboscopic method to investigate the effect of caffeine on
Daphnia hear rate. Journal of Biological Education 31: 253-255.
Wong, Diana C.L., Philip B. Dorn, and Eric Y. Chai. 1997. Acute toxicity and
structure-activity relationships of nine alcohol ethoxylate surfactants to fathead
minnow and Daphnia magna. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 16:
1970-1976.
Wang, Helen Ying, Allen W. Olmstead, Hong Li, and Gerald A. LeBlanc. 2005. The
screening of chemicals for juvenoid-related endocrine activity using the water
flea Daphnia magna. Aquatic Toxicology 74: 193-204.
Villegas-Navarro, Arturo, Esperanza L. Ross, and Jose L. Reyes. 2003. The heart of
Daphnia magna: effects of four cardioactive drugs. Comparative Biochemisty
and Physiology Part C Toxicology and Pharmacology 136C: 127-134.