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The Effects of Ginseng on the Pulse Rate of the Lumbriculus variegatus By: Ryan Reed and Olivia Neidert Introduction: Lumbriculus variegatus , also known as the Blackworm, is a model organism that is useful in numerous laboratory experiments. Charels D. Drewes explained that Blackworms are great for toxicity testing since they are a large part of aquatic ecosystems and food chains. One toxin in particular that can be used for testing is Ginseng. Ginseng is commonly found in North America and in Eastern Asia. It can be used for a variety of things including diabetes control, cancer prevention, fatigue, and many more. Despite these positive uses, Ginseng also has a large number of side effects such as loss of appetite, fever, and dizziness. In this lab, it provides easy testing for the pulse rate of the Blackworm. Hypothesis: If the worm is placed in a solution with Ginseng, then it’s pulse rate will increase. Independent Variable: Ginseng Dependent Variable: Pulse rate Materials: Ten Blackworms, ten petri-dishes, 2 pipettes, microscope, spring water, stirring stick, specially made Blackworm slide, and Panax Ginseng (520 mg). Results: The data collected shows that the pulse rate of the Blackworm does in fact increase when exposed to a solution containing Ginseng. Even though the average pulse rates of the experimental and control groups are somewhat close together, the trials prove that one is higher than the other. When the worms were exposed to a Ginseng solution, their average was 16.8 pulse/min. On the other hand, when they were tested in spring water, their average was 14.4 pulse/min. The graph to the left shows that there were two worms that had the same pulse rate for both testing. Despite this, there were enough trials that showed an increase in the pulse rate to make a valid conclusion. Conclusion: For this lab, we tested the effects of a Ginseng solution on the pulse rate of the Blackworm. After we finished testing, we saw that the pulse rate of the worms tested in Ginseng were overall higher than those of the worms tested in spring water. Some things may have affected our experiment such as the amount of time that we tested. Our trials were stretched across a period of three days, so each group was tested for two days. The temperature could have been different, and the worms behavior could have changed throughout the process. These factors could have affected the results of our experiments, and therefore made them less accurate. The only way to figure that out would be to redo the entire experiment, and make sure all of the trials for each group get done in one day. In order to provide more accurate results, it Method: 1. Make one concentration of Ginseng solution, and split them into two containers of equal amounts 2. Place one worm in the first container and start the timer and use the same 10 worms from day one. 3. When the timer is at five minutes, place one worm in the second container and mark the time for that worm. 4. Once the timer has reached ten minutes, remove the first container and count its pulse rate with a microscope. 5. Place the worm in the recovery bowl once the data is recorded. 6. Replace the first worm with a new worm, and repeat the cycle until all data has been recorded. 7. Repeat steps 2-6 with spring water for the controlled group. References: Drewes, CD. 2003. A toxicology primer for student inquiry: Biological Smoke Detectors. The Kansas School Naturalist, Emporia State University, 50(1);3-14 National Standard. Ginseng (American ginseng, Asian ginseng, Chinese ginseng, Korean red ginseng, Panax ginseng: Panax spp. Including P. ginseng C.C. Meyer and P. quinquefolias L., excluding Eluetherococcus senticosas. Retrieved from
