Benefits of Taurine Supplementation
Taurine supplementation offers limited clinical benefits for most individuals, with the strongest evidence supporting its use in heart failure patients where it may improve exercise capacity and cardiac function.
Clinical Benefits in Heart Failure
- Taurine supplementation (500mg three times daily for two weeks) significantly increases exercise time, metabolic equivalents (METS), and exercise distance in heart failure patients 1
- Taurine supplementation improves functional capacity and reduces cardiovascular function parameters following exercise in heart failure patients 2
- Taurine has been approved for the treatment of congestive heart failure in Japan based on demonstrated clinical efficacy 3
- Short-term taurine supplementation (500mg three times daily) appears to be an effective strategy for improving selected hemodynamic parameters in heart failure patients 2, 1
Mechanism of Action in Cardiovascular Health
- Taurine is thought to improve cardiac function through modulation of calcium homeostasis and its antioxidant properties 4
- Taurine contributes to several physiological functions including osmoregulation, anti-inflammation, membrane stabilization, ion transport modulation, and regulation of oxidative stress 2
- Taurine supplementation in heart failure patients shows beneficial effects on myocardial oxygen consumption and electrical activity, with significant changes in Q-T and P-R segments 2
Role in Mitochondrial Health
- Taurine supplementation protects against pathologies associated with mitochondrial defects, including aging, mitochondrial diseases, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular diseases 5
- Taurine helps maintain mitochondrial function through its antioxidant actions 5
- The heart produces limited quantities of taurine on its own, which may explain why supplementation can be beneficial in cardiac conditions 4
Pediatric Applications
- Taurine is included in amino acid solutions for infants and children receiving parenteral nutrition 6
- Taurine deficiency may increase glyco-conjugates of bile acids and result in cholestasis in neonates 6
- Taurine deficiency may result in retinal dysfunction in pediatric patients 6
- Taurine supplementation (10.8 mg/kg/day) administered with parenteral nutrition for 10 days has been shown to increase taurine concentrations and decrease liver enzyme and ammonia concentrations 6
Limitations and Cautions
- Despite its inclusion in many energy drinks, evidence for taurine benefits in healthy individuals is limited 4
- The American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines do not recommend nutritional supplements including taurine for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction 6
- Clinical guidelines state that "several nutritional supplements (e.g., coenzyme Q10, carnitine, taurine, and antioxidants) and hormonal therapies have been proposed for the treatment of HF. Aside from replenishment of documented deficiencies, randomized trials have failed to demonstrate benefit for routine vitamin, nutritional, or hormonal supplementation" 6
- The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (ESPEN) does not suggest the routine addition of individual amino acids including taurine in parenteral formulas for adults on home parenteral nutrition 6
Dosing Considerations
- For heart failure patients, studies have used 500mg three times daily for two weeks 2, 1
- For parenteral nutrition in infants, taurine supplementation at 3 mg/g amino acid has been shown to maintain plasma taurine concentrations within reference range in term infants 6
- Taurine is included in pediatric parenteral nutrition formulations at approximately 0.025g per 100mL 7
- No firm recommendations can be made regarding advisable lower or upper limits of taurine supplementation for infants and children 6