The amino acid taurine is produced in our body and is found in many foods. With increasing age, however, the taurine level in the blood decreases. A study now shows that mice and monkeys that receive additional high-dose taurine as a dietary supplement age more slowly and live healthier lives for longer. Initial studies in humans also indicate that taurine levels are associated with numerous health parameters. Clinical studies should now clarify whether taking high doses of taurine can also extend the healthy lifespan in humans.
Taurine is one of the semi-essential amino acids: We ingest it through food, but we can also form it ourselves from the amino acid cysteine. Previous studies have shown that the nutrient plays a role in many processes in the body, including development, energy production, signaling in the nervous system, and bile acid formation. It also acts as a strong antioxidant and can curb inflammatory processes. Taurine is mainly found in animal foods, is commercially available as a dietary supplement and is often added to energy drinks. The maximum daily dose recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is 100 milligrams per kilogram of body weight.
Antiaging for mice
A team led by Parminder Singh from the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi in India has now investigated how taurine affects aging processes in animals and humans. First, the researchers examined the taurine concentration in the blood of mice, rhesus monkeys and people of different ages. In line with previous studies, it was shown that the taurine level drops significantly with age – in humans by more than 80 percent over the course of life. “To find out whether the observed decrease in taurine concentration contributes to aging, we gave 14-month-old mice daily taurine at a concentration of 1000 milligrams per kilogram of body weight,” explains the research team. This amount of taurine increased the concentration of the nutrient in the blood of the middle-aged mice to the level of four-week-old pups.
“Regardless of their sex, the mice fed taurine lived longer than their conspecifics from the control group,” report Singh and his team. Females from the taurine group lived twelve percent longer, males ten percent longer, i.e. about three to four weeks. Extrapolated to the human lifespan, that would correspond to seven to eight years. In further experiments, the team showed that taurine also increased the lifespan of roundworms, with higher doses being more effective than lower ones. “Sensible anti-aging therapy should not simply prolong life, but above all the healthy lifespan,” the researchers explain. They therefore examined numerous health parameters in the mice. Indeed, “We found improved bone, muscle, pancreas, brain, fat, gut, and immune function, suggesting an overall longer healthy lifespan.”
The Singh and his team confirmed the result in experiments with middle-aged rhesus monkeys, which received 250 milligrams of taurine per kilogram of body weight daily for six months – the equivalent dose to 1000 milligrams in mice. At the cellular level, they analyzed the mechanisms by which taurine increases health and lifespan. “Taurine had a positive effect on several hallmarks of aging,” the team reports. “Taurine reduced cellular aging, protected against telomerase deficiency, suppressed mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased DNA damage, and dampened inflammation.”
Evidence of transferability to humans
It is not yet clear whether these results can be extrapolated to humans. Another analysis by the researchers provides initial indications: When evaluating the health data of almost 12,000 participants in a large cohort study, they found that people with low taurine concentrations tend to be overweight, type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. “These are associations that do not establish causality,” says Singh’s colleague Vijay Yadav. “But the results are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human aging.”
In another study, Singh and his team also found that physical activity led to a significant increase in taurine levels in both athletic and non-athletic people. “Regardless of the individual, all had elevated taurine levels after exercise, suggesting that some of the health benefits of exercise may be due to an increase in taurine levels,” says Yadav
Recommendations would be premature
However, it is still too early to make any recommendations on possible taurine supplementation. “Although taking taurine is considered relatively safe, there are currently no studies that have followed taurine intake in such high doses over a longer period of time,” explains Sebastian Grönke from the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging in Cologne, who does not was involved in the study. “Therefore, I would definitely advise against trying it on yourself at the moment.”
Joseph McGaunn and Joseph Baur of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia also write in a commentary accompanying the study, also published in the journal Science: “Focusing solely on increasing the amount of taurine in the diet runs the risk of making improper dietary decisions They point out that a plant-rich diet, typically low in taurine, is associated with human health and longevity. “Like any intervention, therefore, taurine supplementation intended to improve human health and longevity should be approached with caution.”
Source: Parminder Singh (National Institute of Immunology, New Delhi, India) et al., Science, doi: 10.1126/science.abn9257