Investigating the Effect of Soybean on the Regeneration Rate of Dugesia Tigrina as a Model for the Mitigation
Emma Wang, Yihan (Anna) Wang
March 10, 2026
ISBN: 979-8-89480-841-3
Type II diabetes is one of the most prevalent diseases today; one effect of the increase in diagnoses being the rising price of insulin as a common treatment. This study investigated if exposure to raw soybean powder, a cheap yet strong antioxidant with abilities to reduce oxidative stress, could increase the regeneration rate of planarians, modeling the development of diabetes and serving as a possible treatment. Immediately after superior amputation, organisms were exposed to various solutions concentrations: them being 0 mg/10 mL, 0.25 mg/10 mL, 0.5 mg/10 mL, 0.75 mg/10 mL, and 1.0 mg/10 mL of soybean to spring water. Planarians were kept in their solutions and photographed multiple days postamputation until photoreceptors were fully developed and original areas were generally restored. Control group planarians required 9 days to fully regenerate, while the 0.5 mg/10 mL and 1.0 mg/10 mL concentrations displayed a significant reduction in regeneration time, needing only about 6±1.5 and 6 days respectively with p values of 0.046 and 0.023. In the 0.25 mg/10 mL however, planarians were recorded to regenerate in 12 days, mainly due to complications of asexual reproduction which altered area measurements. From this it was concluded that higher concentrations resulted in an accelerated regeneration rate by minimizing ROS levels in wound tissue, which may be implemented into the development of cheaper antioxidative treatments to prevent or mitigate the development of diabetes.
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