A deficiency of taurine — a nutrient produced in the body and found in many foods — is a driver of ageing in mammals, according to a study led by Indian researchers, suggesting that the nutrient could be an elixir of life.
The study, published in the journal Science, also found that taurine supplements can slow down the ageing process in worms, mice, and monkeys.
Large experiment with mice showed that taurine increased average lifespan by 12 per cent in female mice and 10 per cent in males. For the mice, that meant three to four extra months, equivalent to about seven or eight human years.
“For the last 25 years, scientists have been trying to find factors that not only let us live longer, but also increase healthspan, the time we remain healthy in our old age,” said lead researcher Vijay Yadav, from Metabolic Research Laboratories at National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi.
“This study suggests that taurine could be an elixir of life within us that helps us live longer and healthier lives,” added Yadav, who is also Assistant Professor of genetics & development at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
While clinical trials are needed to confirm benefits of taurine in humans, the researchers said two experiments suggest taurine has potential.
In the first, Yadav and his team looked at the relationship between taurine levels and approximately 50 health parameters in 12,000 European adults aged 60 and over.
Overall, people with higher taurine levels were healthier, with fewer cases of Type-2 diabetes, lower obesity levels, reduced hypertension, and lower levels of inflammation.
“These are associations, which do not establish causation,” Yadav said, “but the results are consistent with the possibility that taurine deficiency contributes to human ageing.”
The second study showed taurine levels increases with exercise in athletes (sprinters, endurance runners, and natural bodybuilders).
“No matter the individual, all had increased taurine levels after exercise, which suggests that some of the health benefits of exercise may come from an increase in taurine,” Yadav said.
“Taurine is naturally produced in our bodies, it can be obtained naturally in the diet, it has no known toxic effects (although it’s rarely used in concentrations), and it can be boosted by exercise.
“Taurine abundance goes down with age, so restoring taurine to a youthful level in old age may be a promising anti-ageing strategy,” Yadav said.
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