Taurine

A sulphur-containing amino acid for bile acid conjugation, heart rhythm, eye health and a dampening effect at GABA and glycine receptors. It acts osmoregulatory in heart and brain.

What taurine does in the body

Strictly speaking, taurine is an aminosulphonic acid and not a building block of proteins; it is present in free form in the cells. The liver makes it from cysteine, for which vitamin B6 among others is needed, and some comes from animal foods. Heart muscle, skeletal muscle, the retina, the brain and white blood cells contain particularly large amounts of taurine. In the liver it is linked to bile acids, which can then distribute fats in the gut better. In the cells, taurine keeps cell volume stable by binding or releasing water as needed, and it influences how heart muscle cells take up and release calcium – and thus the force and rhythm of contraction. In the mitochondria, taurine is part of the transfer RNA needed to produce the respiratory chain enzymes. In the brain it binds to GABA and glycine receptors and has a dampening effect; white blood cells use it to capture aggressive chlorine compounds that they produce for defence.

Low taurine – what happens in the body?

When little taurine is present, cells adjust their volume less well, the calcium balance of heart muscle cells becomes less stable and photoreceptors of the retina lose a protective factor. How marked these consequences are can be seen in cats, which cannot make taurine themselves: when it is lacking they develop heart muscle weakness and retinal damage. Humans make taurine themselves, but in limited amounts. Lower values occur with long-term artificial feeding via the vein, with a purely plant-based diet, because taurine is found almost only in animal foods, and in studies with increasing age. The liver then links bile acids more to glycine.

High taurine – what does it mean?

The kidneys regulate the body's taurine content by excreting any excess; a raised value therefore usually has no known consequence of its own. It occurs after taurine-rich food or drinks with added taurine, when the kidneys excrete less, and when cells are damaged – for example muscle cells during heavy exertion –, because taurine then passes from inside the cells into the blood.

The interpretation is given in your report.