Taurine: mitochondrial stability and slowed biological ageing
Taurine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that occurs in high concentrations in energy-demanding tissues such as the heart, the brain, and the muscles. Although the body partly makes taurine itself and also takes it in from food, taurine levels in blood and tissues vary over the course of life. Taurine is involved in various biological processes that are vital for cellular stress responses and energy balance, and it plays a part in protection against oxidative damage, calcium balance, and mitochondrial function. These workings touch on several Hallmarks of Aging, including mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation with aging, and disturbed communication between cells.¹
Scientific interest in taurine within the biology of aging rose sharply after a large-scale study published in 2023 in Science. This study showed that taurine levels in animal models and in human cross-sectional data sets vary with age, and that taurine supplementation in multiple organisms could lengthen the span of healthy life (healthspan) and, in some species, also the overall life span (lifespan). In mice and worms, taurine supplementation led to a longer life span, and in monkeys improvements were seen in markers of health during aging. The animal models further suggested that taurine can influence several underlying aging processes, including reducing cellular senescence, protecting against mitochondrial dysfunction, reducing DNA damage, and curbing inflammation.²
In humans, observational analyses in the same setting show that lower taurine levels are linked with poorer heart-and-metabolism profiles, higher levels of inflammation, and other age-related health outcomes, suggesting that taurine may be relevant to health in later life. However, these data are largely correlational, and there are not yet large randomized clinical trials in humans showing that taurine supplementation truly slows biological aging or increases life span.³
Besides the aging setting, there are several studies, including animal models and cellular studies, showing that taurine can support mitochondrial function and may have protective effects against damage tied to oxidative and mitochondrial stress. Taurine supplementation slows oxidative mitochondrial damage in some models and may alter the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial activity and energy metabolism.⁴
From a long-life strategy, taurine can therefore be seen as a molecule that provides structural support for cellular resistance to stress and energy balance. By supporting mitochondrial function and helping reduce oxidative stress, taurine may contribute to maintaining physical energy, metabolic health, and functional capacity—key factors for healthy aging. At the same time, it must be stressed that the direct clinical impact of taurine supplementation in humans still needs to be studied and that current human data mainly concern associations.
Sources:
- The Role of Taurine in Mitochondria Health
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8400259/ - Singh P, et al. – Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging (Science 2023)
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn9257 - PubMed Central summary – Taurine deficiency as a driver of aging
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10630957/ -
Scientific evidence on taurine and mitochondrial/oxidative protection —
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34443494/
