Taking supplements of taurine, one of the most abundant amino acids in the human body, delays aging in mice, macaque monkeys and possibly people as well, according to research led by Columbia University in New York (USA) being presented today. in Science magazine.
The work demonstrates that, in non-human animals, taurine attenuates multiple biological processes typical of ageing. Among others, inflammation, oxidation, cellular senescence, malfunctioning of mitochondria or lack of telomerase. In mice, in which the effect of taurine supplements on survival has been evaluated, they have extended life by more than 10%.
In people it has been discovered that the level of taurine in the blood is reduced by 80% throughout life. Low levels of the amino acid are linked to more inflammation, more belly fat, more risk of type 2 diabetes and poorer blood sugar control, researchers have shown by analyzing data from 12,000 people.
Despite these results, "we do not recommend taking taurine supplements at the present time," Vijay Yadav, director of the research, declared Tuesday at a press conference. "We need to wait for the results of trials in people" to assess the benefits and potential risks of high-dose taurine.
It also does not recommend drinking energy drinks that contain taurine, as they contain other ingredients that could counteract their potential beneficial effects.
The project started in 2012 when Yadav, who was studying how the physiology of organisms changes with aging, discovered a marked decrease in taurine in older people. Intrigued, he set out to find out what effects taurine has on the body. "I could not have imagined that searching for an answer to this question would lead my laboratory and others to an exciting scientific marathon that has lasted eleven years," he explained at the press conference. Scientific institutions from ten countries have participated in the project.
At that time it was known that taurine is an abundant amino acid in animals but not in plants. It represents 0.1% of body weight, or one gram per kilo, which is equivalent to about 70 grams in a 70-kilo person. The human body produces it mainly in the liver and can also obtain it from foods of animal origin, with the highest amounts recorded in bivalve molluscs such as scallops and mussels. It had been discovered in 1827 in the bile of oxen - hence its name, derived from the Latin taurus - and had never been a priority for scientific research.
Yadav wondered if aging was the cause of the decline in taurine with age, or if the decline in taurine could be a cause of aging. In this case, he reasoned, restoring the taurine levels of youth could turn out to be an anti-aging therapy.
To find out, he gave taurine supplements to middle-aged mice and showed that their lives were extended by 10-12%. He repeated the experiment with worms and their lives were also extended by more than 10%.
Since the ultimate goal of his research is not only to extend life, but above all the time lived in good health, Yadav studied the health status of mice treated with taurine. They were surprisingly healthy, compared to mice of the same age that had not received taurine. They had more muscle strength, better coordination, higher bone density, better memory, less anxiety, better respiratory function, and better functioning of all the organs and tissues tested: brain, pancreas, intestines, muscles, bones, fat tissue, and the immune system.
“It seemed too good to be true,” Yadav said at the press conference. But “what really matters are the people; To get as close as possible, we study monkeys.” Specifically, macaques, to which he also gave taurine supplements from the age of 15, equivalent to about 45-50 years in people.
As in mice, their health status was significantly improved. They improved glucose control, liver function, body weight, bone density, and the immune system.
To study the effects of taurine in people, Yadav contacted Henning Wackerhage, a specialist in biology of physical activity at the Technical University of Munich (Germany), and proposed to analyze muscle activity. A group of volunteers agreed to pedal stationary bikes to exhaustion and "we discovered that exercise raises taurine levels," Wackerhage said at the press conference. The increase was seen in both physically active and sedentary people.
This result suggests, according to the researchers, that the beneficial effects of physical activity on health may be due in part to the effects of taurine. But “what kind of exercise is best [for raising taurine]? We still don't have an answer”, declared Wackerhage, for whom the amino acid “impacts in the engine room of aging”.
Looking ahead, Yadav and Wackerhage advocate for a large international study to rigorously investigate the effects of taurine in people. Among the questions awaiting answers, the following stand out: does it also delay aging in people as well as in mice and macaques?; at what dose?; Does it have adverse effects? From what age should I take it?
While waiting for the results, the researchers advise against self-medication with taurine in order to delay aging. But Wackerhage stressed that “we have data on consumption of energy drinks for 40 years and the European Food Safety Authority has concluded that they are safe; if they had any dramatic effects on health, we would know by now.”
"In animals we have not seen adverse effects and we have looked at many tissues," added Yadav. The two doses given to mice, he noted, are equivalent to 3 and 6 grams per day for a person, an amount roughly equivalent to 3 to 6 cans of energy drinks.
The researchers caution that taurine is not an alternative to healthy habits. “If one wants to have a long and happy life, we recommend a healthy diet,” Wackehage stated. "We are going to investigate whether adding taurine to a healthy diet has an additional effect."
