Scientists from the National Institute on Aging at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) analyzed blood samples from humans, monkeys and mice, reporting that taurine levels often increased or remained constant with age.
Researchers also found inconsistent associations between taurine levels and functional biomarkers of healthy aging, such as muscle strength and body weight, which varied depending on context and species.
“On the basis of these findings, we conclude that low circulating taurine concentrations are unlikely to serve as a good biomarker of aging,” they wrote. “Moreover, we surmise that the efficacy of taurine supplementation to delay aging or broadly treat aging-related conditions may be context dependent.”
Taurine and aging
Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid that occurs naturally in meat and fish. We can also produce it enzymatically in our bodies from cysteine. Scientists have already reported that taurine plays a role in building bone, and taurine levels are correlated with immune function, obesity and nervous system functions.
A link between taurine and lifespan was reported in 2023, with a paper by scientists from Columbia University in New York writing that taurine supplementation with the compound was associated with a 12% increase in healthy lifespan in animals.
The study, which was published in Science, garnered a lot of attention in the mainstream media, with headlines such as: Common energy drink ingredient taurine ‘may slow ageing process’ (The Guardian), Is taurine the ‘elixir of life’? Maybe, if you’re a worm, mouse or monkey (CNN), Can Taurine, Found in Energy Drinks, Slow Down Aging? (The New York Times) and Can Taurine Slow Aging? Here’s What the Latest Science Says (Time).
Sales of taurine products surged in response, with one major U.S. dietary supplement brand telling NutraIngredients in 2023 that sales increased by about 300% over a one-month period, compared to sales over the prior two years.
“Identifying reliable biomarkers to predict the onset and progression of aging and functional decline would be a major breakthrough, enabling more effective, personalized strategies to maintain health and independence into old age”
Luigi Ferrucci, MD, PhD, study co-author and scientific director at NIA
New data
For the new study, the NIH researchers used data collected in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, which included data on humans (aged 26 to 100), rhesus monkeys (aged 3 to 32 years) and mice (aged 9 to 27 months).
The data indicated that taurine concentrations increased with age in all groups, except for male mice where levels of the amino acid remained constant.
Similar results were observed when the researchers looked at two other cross-sectional human studies: The Balearic Islands Study of Aging (aged 20 to 85) from the Balearic region of Mallorca and the Predictive Medicine Research cohort (aged 20 to 68) from Atlanta, Georgia. The mouse data was also similar to that reported in the Study of Longitudinal Aging in Mice, the researchers noted.
Inconsistent results were also reported between taurine and muscle strength or body weight.
Source: Science, Vol 388, Issue 6751. doi: 10.1126/science.adl2116. “Is taurine an aging biomarker?” Authors: M. E. Fernandez, et al.
