Taurine (from taurus = bull, as it was discovered in ox (Bos taurus) bile) or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid is an acidic chemical substance found in high abundance in the tissues of many animals (metazoa), especially sea animals. Taurine is also found in plants, fungi, and some bacterial species, but in far less abundance. It is an amine with a sulfonic acid functional group, but it is not an amino acid in the biological sense, not being one of the twenty protein-forming compounds encoded by the universal genetic code. Small polypeptides have been identified as containing taurine, but to date there has been no report of a transfer RNA that is specifically charged with taurine.

Biosynthesis

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The major pathway for mammalian taurine synthesis occurs in the liver via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. In this pathway, the sulfhydryl group of cysteine is first oxidized to cysteine sulfinic acid by the enzyme cysteine dioxygenase. Cysteine sulfinic acid, in turn, is decarboxylated by cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase to form hypotaurine. It is unclear whether hypotaurine is then spontaneously or enzymatically oxidized to yield taurine.

Physiological Roles

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Taurine has two well documented physiological roles:

• Taurine is conjugated via its amino terminal group with the bile acids chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid to form the bile salts sodium taurochenodeoxycholate and sodium taurocholate (see bile). The low pKa (1.5) of taurine's sulfonic acid group ensures that this moiety is negatively charged in the pH ranges normally found in the intestinal tract and thus improves the surfactant properties of the cholic acid conjugate.

Taurine has also been implicated in a wide array of other physiological phenomena including inhibitory neurotransmission, long-term potentiation in the striatum/hippocampus, membrane stabilization, feedback inhibition of neutrophil/macrophage respiratory bursts, adipose tissue regulation ,^*, and calcium homeostasis. The evidence for these claims, when compared against that reported for taurine's role in bile acid synthesis and osmoregulation, is relatively poor.

Premature born infants who lack the enzymes needed to convert cystathione to cysteine may become deficient in taurine. Thus, taurine is a dietary essential nutrient in these individuals.

There is also evidence that excess taurine in adults causes hypertension. However, its positive and negative effects in humans have not been fully documented.

Many therapeutic applications of taurine have been investigated. Some conditions that taurine might be useful in treating include: cardiovascular diseases, hypercholesterolemia, epilepsy and other seizure disorders, macular degeneration, Alzheimer's disease, hepatic disorders, alcoholism, and cystic fibrosis. Therapeutic Applications of Taurine Recent studies show that taurine supplements taken by mice on a high-fat diet reduced their overall weight. Studies have yet to be done on the effect of taurine on obesity in humans. Report published by Nobuyo Tsuboyama-Kasaoka of Japan's National Institute of Health and Nutrition

Commercial uses for taurine

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In recent years, taurine has become a common ingredient in energy drinks such as Battery, Monster, Red Bull, Irn Bru 32, Mountain Dew AMP, Rip It, XS Energy Drink, Vitamin Water Power-C, Full Throttle, Pit Bull Energy Drink, and Boo Koo. It is also abundant in most forms of cat food. Taurine is also often used in combination with bodybuilding supplements such as creatine and anabolic steroids, but there is no evidence to suggest that it has any sort of positive muscle growth effect.

References

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External links

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• BBC report on possible uses of taurine and alcohol damage - 2005

Amines | Sulfonic acids

توراين | Taurin | Taurina | Taŭrino | Taurine | Taurina | Taurin | Taurine | タウリン | Tauryna | Taurina | Таурин | Tavrin | Tauriini | Taurin | 牛磺酸