2023-06-08 20:00:06
Taurine, an essential micronutrient, is one of the most abundant amino acids in animals and people. The body secretes it naturally. Also found in meat, shellfish, fish, dairy products, and breast milk, as well as in the form of a food supplement. Now, a new study, published Thursday in the journal Science, suggests that deficiency of this substance can promote aging. According to the research, reversing age-associated taurine deficiency through supplementation improved healthy life expectancy in worms and rodents, while improving some primate health parameters. In the opinion of the authors, this would justify further human trials to examine its effect on life expectancy and the potential risks involved.
Previous studies in several species have shown that taurine deficiency during the first years of life causes functional impairments in skeletal muscle, the eyes, and the nervous system in ways that are related to disorders associated with aging.
Small clinical trials of taurine supplementation have suggested benefits in metabolic and inflammatory diseases, but the influence of taurine concentrations on the health and longevity of animals remains poorly understood. To better understand if and how taurine abundance influences healthy life span, Parminder Singh and his colleagues measured blood taurine concentrations at different ages in mice, monkeys and humans.
Singh’s team found that in 15-year-old monkeys, serum taurine concentrations were 85% lower than in 5-year-old monkeys. Similarly, taurine levels declined by more than 80% over the course of a human lifetime. Decreasing levels of this amino acid were also observed in aging mice, and the authors found that rodents lacking the main taurine transporter had shorter adult lifespans.
The taurine supplementation in these cases the half-life of worms and mice was increased by 10 to 23% and 10 to 12%, respectively. Notably, in mice, orally administered taurine at doses of 500 and 1,000 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day was also associated with improvements in strength, coordination, and cognitive functions and slowed several key markers of aging, including cellular senescence, mitochondrial and DNA damage, and age-associated inflammation. In addition, Singh and his colleagues also show that taurine supplementation in middle-aged rhesus macaques positively affected their bone, metabolic, and immune health.
Although the authors note that reversal of taurine deficiency shows the potential to be a promising anti-aging strategy, more research and human clinical trials are needed to see if such supplementation increases healthy life expectancy in humans.
In an opinion piece accompanying the paper, Joseph McGaunn and Joseph Baur note that although few risks of taurine supplementation have been suggested, they still warrant consideration due to the lack of large, long-term safety trials in humans. Besides, the equivalent doses used in this study would be very high in humans. “Therefore, like any intervention, taurine supplementation with the goal of improving human health and longevity should be approached with caution,” write McGuann and Baur.
‘The physiological role of taurine and its association with well-being were already known because it plays several important roles in the body. For example, it regulates the balance of water and minerals in the cells, supports the cardiovascular system and participates in the formation of bile, which helps in the digestion of fats. In addition, taurine has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and its possible role in eye health, brain function, and sports performance has been studied,” he explains, speaking to SMC SpainNabil Djouder, head of the Growth Factors, Nutrients and Cancer Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center (CNIO).
For the expert, this study is even more interesting because, from his point of view, it associates a component of the diet with a healthy period of life: “It is important to bear in mind that taurine is an amino acid found naturally in the human body, but its decline during aging could be compensated by a diet rich in foods containing taurine.” Taurine is found in high concentrations in some foods, such as meat and shellfish, but it is very low or almost non-existent on a completely vegan diet.
“Also, it seems that fasting and physical exercise increase the concentration of taurine in the blood, as demonstrated in this study. It is important to note that fasting and physical exercise are also related to increased healthy living. In humans, lower taurine concentrations were found to be correlated with several age-related diseases, with taurine concentrations increasing after intense aerobic exercise,” concludes Nabil Djouder.
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