Taurine—an amino acid present in certain foods and synthesized by the human body—has demonstrated the ability to slow aging in animals when used as a supplement, leading to speculation about its potential as a human anti-aging treatment. However, recent research has cast doubt on the connection between taurine and the aging process.
The study, published on June 5th in the journal Science, analyzed taurine levels in the blood of adult apes and mice as well as among three adults. Previous studies have indicated that circulating taurine decreases with age, a finding that could help explain the benefits of taurine supplements for addressing certain aging symptoms and extending the lifespan of laboratory animals.
However, these earlier studies contained limitations. Most were “cross-sectional,” capturing various ages at a single point rather than following the same subjects over time, leading to conflicting results regarding taurine levels-related aging.
In contrast, the new research employed both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, examining blood samples collected from the same subjects over time. The findings revealed that taurine levels did not diminish with age; they remained stable or increased across all groups studied.
Moreover, the variation in taurine levels among individuals was found to be significantly greater than the changes observed in adulthood, as noted by study co-author Maria Emilia Fernandez, a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institute of Aging (NIA), during a press conference on June 3rd. She stated that low taurine levels “are not likely to serve as a good biomarker for aging.”
“The main takeaway is that taurine reduction is not a universal characteristic of aging,” emphasized Joseph Baul, a professor of Physiology at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.
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Nonetheless, amino acids may still be associated with certain age-related changes in the body. Baul mentioned in an email to Live Science, “It remains important to explore the potential for taurine supplementation to enhance health, especially since other studies indicate benefits like lifespan extension in mice.” However, he clarified that the new study does not dismiss the therapeutic value of taurine supplements.
“There's a contradiction.”
Data from over 740 participants were included in the new study, drawn from a longitudinal Baltimore study of aging covering ages 26 to 100. This also encompassed over 70 individuals aged 20 to 85 who participated in the Balearic Islands aging study and around 160 persons aged 20 to 68 from the Atlanta Predictive Medical Research Cohort. Additionally, blood samples were analyzed from rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and laboratory mice aged 3-32 months, representing the entire span from reproductive maturity to old age and death.
In most of these groups, Fernandez noted, “taurine levels increased with age.” The exceptions were male mice from one segment of the study and males from the predictive medical research group, both of which exhibited stable taurine levels over time. The reason for this discrepancy remains unclear.
The researchers also assessed whether taurine levels correlated with health indicators such as strength. However, the associations found were “inconsistent across different cohorts,” challenging the notion that low taurine levels drive age-related changes.
Importantly, this aspect of the study was not exhaustive. For instance, a 2023 Taurine Research study indicated that taurine supplementation in middle-aged mice improved sugar metabolism and reduced elongated DNA damage, but the current study did not address these additional aging facets.
Adding complexity to taurine’s role in health, amino acids display varying concentrations across individuals with different medical conditions. For example, obese individuals generally exhibit lower taurine levels compared to those of lesser weight, although extreme obesity can lead to increased taurine levels, as the study authors pointed out. In cancer, taurine levels increase in leukemia but decrease in breast cancer, as noted by Fernandez during the press conference.
Given this multifaceted picture, can taurine levels serve as a reliable indicator of health?
“The short answer is no; it is not yet a dependable biomarker,” stated research co-author Rafael de Cabo, from the NIA, during the press conference. “We need to delve into the basic mechanisms before we can reliably utilize taurine levels as markers.”
Despite this, given existing research suggesting taurine’s involvement in aging, the scientific community continues to see value in further exploration. Vijay Yadav, associate professor at New Jersey Medical School, who co-authored the 2023 taurine study, is engaged in ongoing clinical trials to investigate whether daily taurine supplementation can affect aging in middle-aged humans.
“We aim to gather robust data to determine if supplements can decelerate the human aging process,” Yadav articulated during the press conference. However, he stated that there is currently no clinical evidence supporting the use of taurine for anti-aging purposes, a sentiment echoed by the new study’s authors.
Dr. Luigi Ferucci, co-author of the NIA’s recent research and director of science, expressed optimism that further investigation into taurine’s role in aging could unveil promising avenues, even if taurine doesn’t become a standard supplement.
“There exists a contradiction among various studies, and a deeper analysis of this inconsistency is necessary,” Ferucci stated during the press conference. “Such efforts may uncover key mechanisms associated with aging that could serve as targets for intervention.”
This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice.
Source: www.livescience.com