The Effect of Various Concentrations of Chlorophyll on the Heart Rate of Tachycardia-Induced Daphnia magna

Although many studies have examined the effects of natural components on heart rate and cardiovascular diseases, few have investigated chlorophyll's impact on tachycardia. The purpose of this study was to determine if various concentrations of chlorophyll could lower the increased heart rate of Daphnia magna. The findings were intended to be applied to patients with tachycardia, as both D. magna and humans have myogenic hearts, meaning their heart rates are not dependent on neural activity. It was hypothesized that higher chlorophyll concentrations would decrease the high heart rate of D. magna, bringing it closer to normal levels, due to chlorophyll’s antioxidant properties observed in previous studies. The hypothesis was tested using a control group, a negative control group, and experimental groups exposed to 15% and 30% chlorophyll concentrations. To induce tachycardia, D. magna was incubated at 30℃, and heart rates were recorded using the Tap Tool (McMenzie, 2022) app. An ANOVA test with an α-value of .05 revealed significant differences between groups (F(3, 116)= 47.56, p<.0001). A \ Tukey Kramer test indicated significant variance between the control and negative control, negative control and 15%, and negative control and 30% groups. No significant differences were found between the control and 15%, control and 30%, or 15% and 30% groups. These results partially supported the hypothesis, showing that chlorophyll reduced elevated heart rates but with no significant differences between the two chlorophyll concentrations. This suggests that even low levels of chlorophyll intake may help reduce tachycardia heart rates.