Taurine, chemical name 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic compound with the chemical formula C2H7NO3S. It can be widely used in pharmaceuticals, food additives, fluorescent whitening agents, organic synthesis, and other fields. It can also be used as a biochemical reagent, wetting agent, pH buffer, etc.
Taurine is an amino acid derived from sulfur-containing amino acids, also known as taurocholic acid, taurocholic acid, taurocholic acid, or taurocholic acid. Taurine is widely distributed in various tissues and organs in the body, and mainly exists in interstitial fluid and intracellular fluid in a free state. It was first discovered in bull bile and named after it, but has long been considered a non functional metabolite of sulfur-containing amino acids. Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid in animal bodies, but it is not a component of proteins. Taurine is widely distributed in the form of free amino acids in the brain, heart, liver, kidneys, ovaries, uterus, skeletal muscles, blood, saliva, and milk of humans and animals, with the highest concentration in tissues such as the pineal gland, retina, pituitary gland, and adrenal gland. In the heart of mammals, free taurine accounts for as much as 50% of the total free amino acids.
Taurine is an organic osmotic regulator that not only participates in regulating cell volume, but also provides the basis for bile salt formation and plays an important role in modulating intracellular free calcium concentration. Although taurine is a special amino acid not included in protein substances, it is the most abundant amino acid in the brain, retina, and muscle tissue. Taurine is widely used, such as in the function of the central nervous system, cell protection, cardiomyopathy, renal insufficiency, abnormal renal function development, and retinal nerve injury. Almost all eye tissues contain taurine. Quantitative analysis of rat eye tissue extracts showed that taurine is the most abundant amino acid in the retina, vitreous, crystalline lens, cornea, iris, and ciliary body. Numerous studies have found that taurine is an active substance that regulates normal physiological activities in the body. It has a wide range of biological functions, including anti-inflammatory, analgesic, maintaining osmotic pressure balance, maintaining normal visual function, regulating cellular calcium balance, lowering blood sugar, regulating nerve conduction, participating in endocrine activities, regulating lipid digestion and absorption, increasing cardiac contractility, enhancing immune function, strengthening cell membrane antioxidant capacity, and protecting myocardial cells.
1. Promote brain tissue and intellectual development in infants and young children
Taurine is abundant and widely distributed in the brain, which can significantly promote the growth and development of the nervous system, as well as cell proliferation and differentiation, in a dose-dependent manner. It plays an important role in the development of brain nerve cells. Research has shown that the taurine content in the brains of premature infants is significantly lower than that of full-term infants. This is because the cysteine sulfonate dehydrogenase (CSAD) in premature infants is not yet fully developed, and the synthesis of taurine is not sufficient to meet the body's needs. Therefore, it needs to be supplemented by breast milk. The taurine content in breast milk is relatively high, especially in colostrum. If there is insufficient supplementation, it will cause slow growth and intellectual development in young children. Taurine is closely related to the development of the central nervous system and retina in young children and fetuses. Long term simple milk feeding can easily lead to taurine deficiency.
2. Improve nerve conduction and visual function
The main reason why cats and nocturnal owls prey on mice is that mice contain abundant taurine in their bodies, and eating more can maintain their sharp vision. If infants and young children lack taurine, they may experience retinal dysfunction. For patients receiving long-term intravenous nutrition infusion, if taurine is not present in the infusion, it will cause changes in the patient's electroretinogram. Only by supplementing with high doses of taurine can this change be corrected.
3. Preventing cardiovascular disease
Taurine can inhibit platelet aggregation, lower blood lipids, maintain normal blood pressure, and prevent arteriosclerosis in the circulatory system; It has a protective effect on myocardial cells and can resist arrhythmia; It has a special therapeutic effect on reducing cholesterol levels in the blood and can treat heart failure.
4. Affects the absorption of lipids
The function of taurine in the liver is to combine with bile acids to form taurocholic acid, which is essential for the absorption of lipids in the digestive tract. Taurocholic acid can increase the solubility of lipids and cholesterol, relieve bile obstruction, reduce the cytotoxicity of certain free bile acids, inhibit the formation of cholesterol stones, and increase bile flow.
5. Improve endocrine status and enhance human immunity
Taurine can promote the secretion of pituitary hormones, activate pancreatic function, thereby improving the state of the body's endocrine system and regulating metabolism in a beneficial way; And it has the effect of promoting the enhancement of organism immunity and anti fatigue.
6. Affects sugar metabolism
Taurine can bind to insulin receptors, promote cellular uptake and utilization of glucose, accelerate glycolysis, and reduce blood glucose concentration. Research has shown that taurine has a certain hypoglycemic effect and does not rely on increasing insulin release. The regulatory effect of taurine on cellular glucose metabolism may be achieved through post receptor mechanisms, mainly relying on its interaction with insulin receptor proteins rather than directly binding to pancreatic receptors.
7. Inhibit the occurrence and development of cataracts
Taurine plays an important role in regulating crystal osmotic pressure and antioxidation. During the development of cataracts, the content of malic acid in the lens increases, leading to an increase in crystal osmotic pressure. However, the concentration of taurine, an important substance for regulating osmotic pressure, decreases significantly, weakening its antioxidant effect. Proteins in the lens undergo excessive oxidation, which can cause or worsen the occurrence of cataracts. Supplementing taurine can inhibit the occurrence and development of cataracts.
8. Improving memory function
In animal experimental studies on the relationship between taurine and brain development, it was found that taurine can promote learning and memory abilities in rats. Supplementing with an appropriate amount of taurine can not only improve learning and memory speed, but also enhance the accuracy of learning and memory, and has a certain effect on anti-aging of the nervous system.
9. Maintain normal reproductive function
Normal reproductive function requires taurine to be maintained. There is evidence that when the taurine content in cat feed is less than 0.101%, its reproductive function is poor, the rates of stillbirth, miscarriage, and congenital defects increase, and the survival rate of offspring decreases. Normal reproductive function can only be maintained when the content is above 0.105%.
10. Other functions
Taurine has a significant effect on preventing and treating iron deficiency anemia. It can not only promote intestinal absorption of iron, but also increase the stability of red blood cell membranes; Taurine is also a growth promoting factor for bifidobacteria in the human gut, optimizing the structure of the gut bacterial community; It also has antioxidant and anti-aging effects; Can promote the recovery of acute hepatitis to normal; It has a protective effect against carbon tetrachloride poisoning and can inhibit the increase in serum alanine aminotransferase caused by it,Taurine has a protective effect on nephrotoxicity.Taurine can calm, relieve pain, and reduce inflammation, and also has preventive and therapeutic effects on frostbite, KCN poisoning, and migraines.