Does Taurine Prolong Lifespan by Improving Heart Function?

摘要

Taurine is an abundant amino acid that is essential for the cat but semi-essential for man (Knopf et al. 1978; Gaull 1986). Taurine is synthesized from cysteine in the liver. While the biosynthesis of taurine is depressed or absent in both cats and humans, the turnover of taurine is dramatically increased in the cat, causing a loss of large amounts of taurine in the feces as taurocholic acid. By contrast, the conjugation of bile acids in man involves either glycine or taurine; glycine substitutes for taurine when intracellular taurine levels are very low (Knopf et al. 1978). Because the combination of extremely low rates of taurine biosynthesis and high rates of taurine loss from the body as taurine conjugated bile acids, the cat is dependent upon a dietary source of taurine to maintain bodily taurine stores (Knopf et al. 1978). In contrast to the cat and man, rodents synthesize abundant amounts of taurine in the liver, which insulates the rodent from dietary-induced taurine deficiency (Huxtable and Lippincott 1982).