[Studying intermediatory regulation of heart rhythm using Daphnia magna as the alternative test object]

A functional test using Daphnia magna Straus hydrobionts is proposed for studying the role of intermediatory relationships in the heart rate (HR) regulation. It is established that the M-cholinomimetic carbamylcholine increases for two hours and decreases after 24 hours the HR in D. magna. Caffeine (a nonselective antagonist of adenosine receptors) potentiates the action of carbamylcholine during the first hour and then ceases to influence the drug effect. Caffeine normalizes the HR rate D magna, which was decreased by the cholinolytic atropine and the beta-adrenolytic atenolol. The possibilities of using the proposed test for the investigation of intermediatory relationships in the HR regulation, rapid analysis of the cardiothropic action of xenobiotics, and the primary screening of drugs for the pharmacological correction of HR disturbances are discussed.