Taurine has shown some initial promise as an anti-aging agent. However, much more research is needed to confirm its use. (Image credit: Javier Zayas Photography via Getty Images)
Taurine, an amino acid found in some foods and synthesized by the human body, has been shown to slow aging in animals when used as a supplement, suggesting it may hold promise as an anti-aging agent for humans. However, a new study has cast doubt on taurine's link to aging.
The study, published Thursday (June 5) in the journal Science, measured taurine levels in the blood of three groups of older humans, as well as adult monkeys and mice. Previous studies have shown that circulating taurine levels decline with age, which may explain why taurine supplements improve certain aspects of aging while also extending lifespan — at least in lab animals.
However, these previous studies had their limitations. For example, most were “cross-sectional,” meaning that instead of looking at the same organisms over time, they analyzed many organisms of different ages at one point. This approach led to inconsistent results, with different studies reporting decreases, increases, or stability in taurine levels with age.
You may like
- Brain Aging Accelerates Sharply at Age 44—Can Ketone Supplements Help?
- Combination of anti-cancer drugs increases lifespan of mice by 30%
- Biological secrets of world's oldest woman Maria Brañas Morera revealed after her death
To clarify matters, the new study included both cross-sectional and longitudinal data, the latter of which consisted of blood samples taken at different time points from the same groups of people and lab animals as they aged. Ultimately, the researchers found that taurine levels did not decrease with age; instead, they increased or remained the same across all groups studied.
Moreover, the differences in taurine levels observed between people “are usually much larger” than the changes seen in midlife, study co-author Maria Emilia Fernandez, a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), noted at a press conference on June 3. Therefore, low taurine levels “are unlikely to be a good biomarker of aging,” she added.
“The main takeaway is that declining taurine levels are not a universal feature of aging,” says Joseph Baur, a professor of physiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, who was not involved in the study.
However, the amino acid may still be associated with some age-related changes in the body, he told Live Science in an email, adding that “given that other studies have shown benefits, including increased lifespan in mice, I believe there remains a need to explore the potential of taurine supplements to improve health.” At the same time, the new study does not provide strong evidence for or against the therapeutic value of taurine supplements, he explained.
“There is a discrepancy”
The new study included data from more than 740 participants in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, ages 26 to 100. It also included data from more than 70 people ages 20 to 85 in the Balearic Islands Study of Aging in Mallorca, as well as data from about 160 people ages 20 to 68 in the Predictive Medicine Research cohort in Atlanta. The team also analyzed blood from rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) ages 3 to 32 and blood from lab mice.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
