The main purpose of conducting pre-trials was to test the mortality rate, or in other words, the death rate of the Planarians when exposed to different concentrations of ectoine (ECT). A total of 4 dosage concentrations were tested throughout pre-trials, with 5 planarians allocated to each concentration of 5%, 10%, 25%, and 50% ECT. A time frame of 7 days was used to observe the mortality rate, and all dosage concentrations of 5% - 25% had passed the mortality rate test with no deaths recorded. However, the 50% ECT dosage concentration had recorded a death rate of 40% (2 out of 5 planarians) in the allocated timeframe for pre-trials, indicating that a 50% dosage concentration is too high to test the regenerative properties on Planaria. Therefore, the 25% ECT dosage concentration will be used for the rest of the experimental trials moving forward.

After completing pre-trials, it was time to begin my journey into fully understanding the properties of ECT on planarian regeneration. I have already begun my first experimental trials, where I have allocated a time frame of 7 days to feed, incision, and measure 15 planarians per trial. Throughout each trial, the planarians will be fed with boiled eggs and given a minimum of a few hours to digest the food before incisioning and initial measuring of each planarian begins. In my case, after a day of a digestive period, the initial measurements of each Planaria were measured and recorded where they were given about 3-4 days until the next measurements were recorded. The final measurements were recorded at the 7 day mark from when the initial measurements were recorded, which so far, I have been able to complete final measurement of the control group of trial #1.  Some significant patterns that I have seen thus far with planarian regeneration is that most have been able to regenerate eye spots by the 3 to 4 day mark from when initial measurements were taken, which is the main indication that regneeration has been successful in these model organisms.