Transcript The Effects of Vespa Amino Acid Mixture on - Eco-physlab

The Effects of Vespa Amino Acid Mixture on Musca domestica
Caitlin Linville, Mandeep Kaur, Chelsea Rasnic, and J.E. Davis
Radford University
Abstract
Results
Results & Discussion
Vespa Amino Acid Mixture (VAAM) is a product isolated from the saliva of Japanese
giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia japonica) larvae. This product has been used in a
Japanese sport and health drink marketed by VAAM Power, which claims that it
increases endurance via the breakdown of fat and the suppression of lactic acid
formation in the muscles. However, it is notable that no studies on VAAM’s effects of
efficacy have been conducted on insects other than giant Japanese hornets. The
current study was designed to test VAAM administration to insects, on energetically
expensive activities such as swimming. Musca domestica, more commonly known as
the house fly, was used as a study animal for this experiment. Results from our study
show that VAAM does in fact significantly increase endurance in our test by an
average of 275% (p<.0001), though the mechanisms of the product’s effects remain
somewhat unclear. Findings in this experiment also point towards a risk associated
with VAAM, as experimental flies were significantly more likely to die the following
testing than were control group animals, though again, the mechanisms underlying
this effect are currently uncertain. Continuing studies regarding this remarkable
compound are ongoing.
P=.0001
n= 174
Timeline
Day 0
• Animals hatched from pupae
• Divided into study groups:
• VAAM+swim, VAAM w/o swim
• Control+ swim, Control w/o swim
Future Studies
100
Average Swim Time
P=.0001
• Synthetic VAAM
• The effects of VAAM on additional species and measures of
endurance.
• Recovery from environmental challenges
80
Seconds
Day 1
• Housing – flies were housed in individual tubes
• Fed mixture of dried broccoli, cereal, and dog food
• Initial treatment (HOW MUCH VAAM OR WATERAND
HOW)
- VAAM caused a 276% increase in swim time (p<.0001)
oFlies fed a sugar water supplement did not differ from control (p=.99),
indicating that effects are not due simply to increased energy
availability
- No effect of weight on swim time in control group, but VAAM-treated
flies with greater weight swam for longer durations (p<.0032).
oIncreased fat reserves may have allowed increased energy
expenditure under VAAM treatment
- Flies treated with VAAM died more rapidly than control flies in both
swim (p<.01) and no-swim conditions (p<.001)
oFlies not forced to swim lived longer than flies not forced to swim
(p<.0001) regardless of VAAM treatment
- VAAM’s mechanism of action remains uncertain
Control Mean
60
Experimental
Mean
40
20
Put a small graph of death
with swimming here
0
Day 2
• Second treatment (HOW MUCH VAAM OR WATER)
• TESTING
• DESCRIBE TESTING METHODOLOGY
Acknowledgements
Death Rate Without Swim Test
P=.0001
50
45
Special thanks to the OURS office and the members of the Ecophysiology Lab
Mortality check
• Mortality checked for days 2-20
• Both for animals given swim testing and not
Number of Flies
40
Contact
35
30
25
Experimental
Control
20
15
10
5
0
Oct. 1
2nd
3rd
6th
8th
Dates
10th
13th
15th
17th
n= 90
Caitlin Linville – [email protected]
Mandeep Kaur- [email protected]