Amino Acid - Taurine

As noted under the Amino Acid blog post, Taurine does not have an "L" prefix as it only exists in one form. Furthermore, Taurine's unusual as it's not incorporated into proteins in the body (likewise, L-Ornithine). However, Taurine does play an important role in bile acid metabolism (as it's incorporated into one of the most abundant bile acids - Chenodeoxychloic Acid), where it serves to emulsify dietary lipids in the intestine, promoting digestion.

Taurine's most famous use is within "buzz/ energy" drinks, such as Red Bull (you know - gives you wings). You may find it as an active ingredient within your pet food or baby formula as well. As with most amino acids we've covered, their individual (& grouped) function/s has led to their analysis for different uses and their inclusion within many relating formula's. Although Taurine's inclusion within pet food and baby formula is more apparent (I'll cover this at the foot of the page), there's several reasons to argue it's inclusion within "energy" drinks, subsequently, it's become the norm as an ingredient. The quantitative "energy" (measured in calories) is less within so called "energy" drinks than a typical soft drink. The relating term "energy" (& the reason why I place it within annoying " " upon each mention) is borne from the basis that the ingredients (including Taurine) in these drinks contribute to mental alertness and physical performance, despite actually having less "energy" (again, when measuring calories). Personally, I prefer the term "buzz" drink. Anyway, I'll cover "energy" drinks in greater detail within the supplement section of the Gym Professor website.

Before I forget, what else you might see Taurine in as an active ingredient - pet food and baby formula. Firstly, pet food. Working along with Zinc, Taurine is important for eye health and vision. Cat's cannot synthesize the compound and so it's an important dietary requirement. Don't worry, your cat's not about to go blind, as meat and fish are good sources of Taurine. But, if you see it as an added ingredient within a processed cat food formula, this is why. As regards baby formula, premature babies who lack the enzymes needed to convert cystathionine to L-Cysteine may become deficient in taurine. Thus, taurine is a dietary essential nutrient in these individuals and is often added to many baby formulas as a measure of prudence (the name of my first cat - ha). Also of note, it has been found that high concentrations of Taurine are present in breast milk.