Taurine: Difference between revisions

Taurine
Chemical name	Taurine
Chemical formula	C2H7NO3S
Molecular mass	125.14 g/mol
Melting point	305.0 °C
Density	1.734 g/cm3 (@ -173.15 °C)
CAS number	107-35-7
SMILES	NCCS(=O)(O)=O
Disclaimer and references

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

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

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. 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.

Commercial uses for taurine

In recent years, taurine has become a common ingredient in energy drinks such as Monster, Red Bull, VitaminWater, Mountain Dew AMP, Rip It, XS Energy Drink, Full Throttle, and Boo Koo. It is also abundant in most forms of cat food. It is bull urine.