Yes but the fact that Taurine declines with age in mice was a finding that made sense that supplementing with Taurine might make up for a deficiency as they aged. If that is true, and it doesn’t decline with age in humans then it may mean that we shouldn’t expect the mouse result to translate to humans.
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The new paper also found an age-dependent increase in taurine levels for female C57BL/6J mice (male levels unchanged). This is the same mice strain that lived longer with taurine supplementation and where taurine levels were (perhaps erroneously) suggested to decline with age.
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Could this be applied to a lot of what we talk about on this forum? Especially if the studies is done on worms or flies?
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Yes, worms are particularly bad as their adult somatic cells don’t divide. However, much that normally I would not bother with any tests on worms there are times that it is useful.
In a sense people are trying to find out how cars work by seeing how far they drive in particular circumstances. It is to some extent useful, but not the best approach.
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@KarlT Yes, agree with John. Rapamycin is pretty unique in that it targets a very conserved pathway so the fly and worm data adds support to its relevance in aging. I wouldn’t think anything of it unless there was mouse data and even then I’d want to see it backed up in non-human primates. All that takes time but I consider longevity data in non-mammals intriguing at best.
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In Japan Taurine is used as a medicine for congested heart failure as well as for mitochondrial diseases.
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Just came across this study suggesting Taurine supplementation is not needed. Wondering if this changes anyone’s mind on the efficacy of Taurine supplementation? https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl2116?utm_source=semafor
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Can give you that… based on the information that taurine is not an anti-aging supplement because we have what we need… ok. I eat lots of meat… steak every other day. So for me meat every day… and an egg for breakfast most days.
But, I think the benefit is in that your bones are dissolving and reforming… where as we age the dissolving is not equal to rebuilding process… and leads to osteopenia… and osteoporosis.
For me, the added taurine took me from osteopenia to normal in a year’s use… 1 teaspoon in my coffee each morning.
In 1.5 years I can recheck for free… covered by insurance. And, see what changes occurred… good or bad.
Link: A Key Metabolic Regulator of Bone and Cartilage Health.
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Here is a compact mini review of the health benefits of taurine published in scientific papers (from consensus.ai):
“Taurine is a naturally occurring amino acid often used as a supplement, with research exploring its potential to improve various aspects of health. The evidence for taurine supplementation improving health is promising, especially for metabolic, cardiovascular, and aging-related outcomes, but most robust effects are seen in animal studies and select human populations. Large, long-term clinical trials in humans are still needed to confirm broad health benefits.
Metabolic and Cardiovascular Health
Blood Lipids and Glycemic Control: Taurine supplementation (especially at 3g/day) significantly improves triglycerides, total cholesterol, fasting insulin, and glycemic markers in overweight and obese adults, with stronger effects in those with obesity or metabolic dysfunction (Sun et al., 2024; Guan & Miao, 2020; Bae et al., 2022).
Blood Pressure: Meta-analyses show taurine can lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure in people with liver or metabolic issues (Guan & Miao, 2020; Yamori et al., 2010; Santulli et al., 2023).
Obesity and BMI: Some studies report modest reductions in BMI and body weight, particularly in overweight individuals, but effects are not consistent across all populations (Sun et al., 2024; Guan & Miao, 2020).
Aging and Longevity
Animal Studies: Taurine supplementation extends lifespan and healthspan in mice, monkeys, and worms, improving bone, muscle, immune, and metabolic health, and reducing markers of aging such as DNA damage and inflammation (Singh et al., 2023; McGaunn & Baur, 2023; Santulli et al., 2023).
Human Data: Lower taurine levels are associated with age-related diseases, but direct evidence for anti-aging effects in humans is lacking; clinical trials are recommended (Singh et al., 2023; McGaunn & Baur, 2023; Santulli et al., 2023).
Other Health Effects
Cognitive and Physical Function in Elderly: Taurine, especially when combined with exercise, may reduce inflammation and improve physical fitness in older adults, though cognitive benefits are less clear (Chupel et al., 2021).
Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Epidemiological studies link higher taurine intake with lower cardiovascular risk and mortality (Yamori et al., 2010; Santulli et al., 2023).
Conclusion
Taurine supplementation shows clear benefits for metabolic and cardiovascular health in at-risk populations and strong anti-aging effects in animal models. While early human data are encouraging, especially for metabolic and cardiovascular markers, more large-scale, long-term human trials are needed to confirm its broader health and longevity benefits.
These papers were sourced and synthesized using Consensus, an AI-powered search engine for research. Try it at https://consensus.app
References
Sun, Q., Wang, J., Wang, H., Yu, H., Wan, K., , F., & Wang, R. (2024). Effect of Long-Term Taurine Supplementation on the Lipid and Glycaemic Profile in Adults with Overweight or Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 17. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17010055
Jong, C., Sandal, P., & Schaffer, S. (2021). The Role of Taurine in Mitochondria Health: More Than Just an Antioxidant. Molecules, 26. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26164913
Zhang, Y., Wei, Z., Yang, M., Liu, D., Pan, M., Wu, C., Zhang, W., & Mai, K. (2020). Dietary taurine modulates hepatic oxidative status, ER stress and inflammation in juvenile turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L.) fed high carbohydrate diets… Fish & shellfish immunology. Redirecting
Guan, L., & Miao, P. (2020). The effects of taurine supplementation on obesity, blood pressure and lipid profile: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials… European journal of pharmacology, 173533. Redirecting
Singh, P., Gollapalli, K., Mangiola, S., Schranner, D., Yusuf, M., Chamoli, M., Shi, S., Bastos, B., Nair, T., Riermeier, A., Vayndorf, E., Wu, J., Nilakhe, A., Nguyen, C., Muir, M., Kiflezghi, M., Foulger, A., Junker, A., Devine, J., Sharan, K., Chinta, S., Rajput, S., Rane, A., Baumert, P., Schönfelder, M., Iavarone, F., Di Lorenzo, G., Kumari, S., Gupta, A., Sarkar, R., Khyriem, C., Chawla, A., Sharma, A., Sarper, N., Chattopadhyay, N., Biswal, B., Settembre, C., Nagarajan, P., Targoff, K., Picard, M., Gupta, S., Velagapudi, V., Papenfuss, A., Kaya, A., Ferreira, M., Kennedy, B., Andersen, J., Lithgow, G., Ali, A., Mukhopadhyay, A., Palotie, A., Kastenmüller, G., Kaeberlein, M., Wackerhage, H., Pal, B., & Yadav, V. (2023). Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging. Science, 380. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abn9257
Yamori, Y., Taguchi, T., Hamada, A., Kunimasa, K., Mori, H., & Mori, M. (2010). Taurine in health and diseases: consistent evidence from experimental and epidemiological studies. Journal of Biomedical Science, 17, S6 - S6. Taurine in health and diseases: consistent evidence from experimental and epidemiological studies | Journal of Biomedical Science | Full Text
Bae, M., Ahmed, K., & Yim, J. (2022). Beneficial Effects of Taurine on Metabolic Parameters in Animals and Humans. Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome, 31, 134 - 146. https://doi.org/10.7570/jomes21088
McGaunn, J., & Baur, J. (2023). Taurine linked with healthy aging. Science, 380, 1010 - 1011. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adi3025
Santulli, G., Kansakar, U., Varzideh, F., Mone, P., Jankauskas, S., & Lombardi, A. (2023). Functional Role of Taurine in Aging and Cardiovascular Health: An Updated Overview. Nutrients, 15. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15194236
Chupel, M., Minuzzi, L., Furtado, G., Santos, M., Ferreira, J., Filaire, E., & Teixeira, A. (2021). Taurine supplementation reduces myeloperoxidase and matrix-metalloproteinase-9 levels and improves the effects of exercise in cognition and physical fitness in older women. Amino Acids, 53, 333 - 345. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-021-02952-6”
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If you get enough taurine in your diet, you may not need to supplement (Diet is a type of supplementation). If you are deficient or metabolically unhealthy, taurine provides a great deal of benefit. I’d say most elderly people do not get enough taurine. So, yes, taurine is beneficial for life extension.
However, if you test the effects of taurine on 20-40 y.o, healthy individuals to see if there are any benefits, you probably aren’t going to see much.
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This right here.
I thought outcomes are what we are supposed to focus on? The mice and monkeys lived longer when fed a taurine diet comparable to 3-6g in a human. All this study tells us is that we might have gotten the mechanism wrong.
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It casts some serious doubt on whether the lifespan increase will replicate, given their other data did not, no?
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Is the ITP currently testing taurine right now? I can’t remember what they’re working on anymore at the moment.
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Anti-ageing effects of popular supplement taurine challenged
Massive study finds limited connection between ageing and taurine levels in people, monkeys and mice.
Research suggests that blood levels of the amino acid taurine might not be as closely linked to ageing as previous research had suggested. Led by scientists at the US National Institute on Aging (NIA) in Baltimore, Maryland, the study casts doubt on the use of taurine as an ageing biomarker — something that could be measured to help determine a person’s health status — and on its use as a dietary supplement to stave off the effects of ageing1.
“We clearly show that there’s no need for taurine supplementation as long as you have a healthy diet,” says Rafael de Cabo, a gerontologist at the NIA. The results were published today in Science.
Scientists not involved in the research highlight the rigour of the analysis, which looked at taurine levels in hundreds of humans over time, as well as in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) and mice. “Taurine levels were not decreasing [with age] and are not related to any abnormality that they could see in this very good longitudinal study,” says geneticist Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Nevertheless, the study looked only at natural taurine levels in the body, and not at whether supplements have any benefits. “That’s something that has yet to be tested,” he says.
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Is taurine an aging biomarker?
Editor’s summary
Some studies (including work published in 2023 by Singh et al.) have indicated that taurine concentrations decline with age, and supplementation has been suggested to improve both healthspan and lifespan. Fernandez et al. now report results in mice, nonhuman primates, and three distinct large human cohorts studied longitudinally (i.e., with repeated measurements of the same individuals) that yield a more complex picture. The authors found large interindividual variation in circulating taurine concentrations and an increase in taurine concentrations for most cohorts during adult life. There was also no clear association of taurine concentrations with measures of health status. Thus, the possible beneficial effects of taurine supplementation are likely to depend on a range of variables and individual context. —L. Bryan Ray
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How many Americans can say this?
Also, taurine-supplemented mice showed a dramatic decrease in senescent cell load in later life. OK, I agree that taurine may not be a good biomarker for aging, but I believe it has remarkable health benefits for those who are elderly and deficient. I also assume that most older people are deficient in taurine due to their diet.
For me, I’m going to continue taking taurine. It has a lot of possible upsides related to triglycerides, insulin sensitivity, senescent cell load, and cardiovascular benefits. It’s cheap as chips and it has no downside that I can tell. Worst case, I am making expensive excrement.
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There’s an interesting pattern here, that we also have seen with other substances.
For exemple, Baylor human study showed that elderly men had much lower glutathione levels than young men, and supplementing with GlyNac improved many aspects of their health. However, later Nestle – that actually sells a Glynac product – published a study that there were no Glutathione level difference between younger and older men. Baylor’s older cohort were all overweight or even obese, which might explain the difference more strikingly than age.
It is also said the NAD+ levels decrease with age. While this seems to be true on average, when you look at a scatter plot chart, you see these levels are all over the place, they vary greatly individually, and many older folks have quite high NAD+ levels, that are a lot higher than those of some young people.
So this, simply said, might explaine why NMN/NR, Glynac, and possibly also Taurine appear to have great effects on some, but none on others. Maybe some people are more gullible and readily believe and report placebo effects. But maybe some people – whatever their age – are indeed NAD+, Glutathione or Taurine deficient and should thus supplement.
As far as concerned, I’ve taken Taurine (at quite a high dose, around 3g-5g) for quite some time and have never noticed an effect. I’ve taken Glynac for short periods, but at quite a low dose (500mg each), and have noticed nothing. Taking 300mg of NR has produced the noticeable effect in me that I never get hangovers. So I continued taking it, even if I don’t intend to get drunk every day, but it seems to prove to me that NR does something positive to my metabolism (detoxifying), that could also work in other ways. Charle Brenner said that 300mg NR works like an “antivirus” software, you don’t notice it, but it reparis problems when they arrive.
So maybe it’s just that I’m neither taurine nor glutathione deficient, but that I drink too much…
But supplement should be much more individualized, just like vitamins that are lifesaving if you have a serious deficiency (Vitamin C for scorbut, Niacin for Pellagra), but useless and potentially even dangerous if you don’t.
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Sure didn’t help those ITP mice.
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ChatGPT (4o)
Here’s a tidy transcript summary, core takeaways, and a critique of the YouTube video titled:
“Taurine May Not Decline With Age + Cancer Link?” (by Siim Land)
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XGdrDQ-Uqw
Tidy Summary
1. New Findings on Taurine and Aging
- A recent 2024 Science study examined taurine levels across species (humans, non-human primates, mice).
- Contrary to earlier studies, taurine levels do not decline with age; in fact, they sometimes increase.
- Taurine levels vary widely between individuals. This inconsistency complicates the idea of using taurine as a universal aging biomarker.
2. Why Might Taurine Rise with Age?
- Compensatory response: Aging causes oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction; taurine may rise to counteract these effects.
- Kidney dysfunction: Aging reduces taurine excretion, leading to accumulation.
- Sex/body composition effects: Women (who live longer) have higher taurine levels and more fat mass, which might influence taurine dynamics.
3. Health Outcomes and Supplementation
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Higher blood taurine levels do not consistently predict health outcomes (e.g. strength, organ function, aging markers).
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But: Clinical trials show taurine supplementation benefits include:
- Improved metabolic health (e.g. blood pressure, blood sugar)
- Reduced inflammation
- Enhanced exercise performance
- Extended lifespan/healthspan in mice (15%/25% respectively)
4. Taurine and Leukemia
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A separate study linked taurine transporters (not taurine itself) to leukemia progression:
- In mice with leukemia, higher taurine transporter expression led to faster disease progression.
- Human leukemia patients with high transporter expression had worse survival.
- Suggests cancer may hijack taurine transporters to support its growth.
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Important caveat: There’s no evidence that taurine causes cancer. The transporter is upregulated by the disease.
5. Final Takeaway
- Taurine doesn’t promote aging or cause cancer.
- Taurine supplementation remains beneficial, especially for people with poor metabolic health.
- Avoid in cancer contexts cautiously, until more is known.
Key Conclusions
| Topic | Evidence Summary |
|---|---|
| Aging | No consistent decline in taurine with age; elevation may be compensatory |
| Health biomarkers | Circulating taurine not reliably linked to better or worse health outcomes |
| Supplementation | Improves metabolic, cardiovascular, and exercise metrics (clinical support) |
| Cancer (Leukemia) | Taurine transporter is upregulated in leukemia; no causality from taurine itself |
| Safety | Likely safe in healthy people; caution advised in active cancer (esp. leukemia) |
Critique
Strengths:
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Balanced interpretation: The speaker carefully distinguishes between taurine levels, transporters, and supplementation effects.
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Clear explanation of mechanistic ambiguity: Recognizes that elevation in taurine might reflect physiological compensation rather than pathology.
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Correctly addresses cancer concern: Clarifies that cancer uses taurine transport, but taurine itself is not a carcinogen.
Weaknesses:
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No mention of dosage thresholds: The discussion would benefit from addressing what doses were used in trials vs. common supplements. -
Speculative on transporter upregulation: While it’s plausible that cancers hijack transport systems, mechanistic details (e.g. signaling pathways or metabolic flux) are lacking.
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No reference to human interventional aging trials: The mention of an unpublished taurine-aging human trial could have been expanded (e.g. trial registration ID or study design).
Opportunities for Future Coverage:
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Detailed discussion of taurine kinetics (synthesis vs. dietary intake vs. excretion) -
Mechanistic comparison between taurine and other longevity interventions (e.g., glycine, carnosine, melatonin) -
Meta-analyses of taurine trials to better quantify effect sizes in humans
Would you like a literature review on taurine supplementation trials in humans or mechanistic pathways linked to its mitochondrial and anti-inflammatory effects?
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