The Cardiovascular Benefits of Taurine

Taurine is an amino acid found in nearly all tissues.¹

In animals, adding taurine helped them live longer^2,3 and stay healthier.^2,4-6

This is likely a result of taurine’s protection against cell damage,^5,7 repairing energy problems in cells,^7,8 protecting DNA,⁷ and reducing long-term inflammation;5 which are common malfunctions that accompany aging.² However, taurine’s role in aging humans remains a topic of ongoing research.

Scientific research has long focused on the cardiovascular benefits of taurine.^7,9-13

In Japan, taurine has been safely and successfully used for four decades to improve heart function and exercise capacity in patients with heart failure.⁸

Clinical studies have shown its potential to decrease elevated cholesterol, blood pressure,^13,14 and triglycerides,¹³ which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

What is Taurine?

While most amino acids serve as building blocks for proteins, taurine does not.

Instead, taurine acts as a “free” amino acid in body tissue, assisting with a variety of processes, such as the regulation of calcium and potassium.¹⁵ Taurine also supports the health of cells and mitochondria, the energy-generating “powerhouses” of the cell.⁸

Taurine is especially abundant in the heart, where it constitutes approximately 50% of the total free amino acids in the heart.¹⁵

Animal studies have linked taurine to overall healthy aging. For example, taurine intake boosted the median lifespan of middle-aged mice by 10%-12%. Elderly mice given taurine had an even more dramatic 25% increase in life expectancy.²

While taurine supplementation in humans shows promise in supporting cardiovascular and metabolic health, effects on aging are from animal studies; additional research is on-going to clarify taurine’s role in aging humans.

How Taurine Works

Research evidence has demonstrated that taurine may deliver many of its cardiovascular benefits by:

• Modulating calcium and potassium channels, which influence cardiac electrical activity and vascular tone. It can relax arteries by opening calcium-activated potassium channels.¹¹
• Improving myocardial energetics, how well the heart muscle uses and produces energy to pump blood,^16-18
• Reducing the effects of angiotensin II, a hormone that causes blood vessels to tighten and the body to retain salt, which can worsen heart failure,^19,20
• Reducing damage to cardiac, endothelial, and other cells by enhancing nitric oxide (NO) availability and by boosting antioxidant enzymes,^21,22
• Boosting anti-inflammatory activity (likely by reducing the effects of the renin-angiotensin system),¹⁰
• Inhibiting cardiomyopathy, a set of pathologies that make the heart muscle weak, thick, or rigid,²³ and
• Helping to slow the development of atherosclerosis.²⁴

Cardiac Benefits

Taurine plays a key role in the functioning of the cardiovascular system.

A review describing the functional role of taurine in cardiac health concluded that it can enhance cardiac contractility (the heart’s ability to contract and pump blood effectively) and overall heart function, especially left ventricular function, which is a primary factor in how well the heart pumps oxygen-rich blood to the body.¹⁵

In animal studies, taurine intake improved:¹⁵

• Contractility,
• Stroke volume (amount pumped per beat), and
• Cardiac output (amount of blood pumped per minute).

A study investigating the effects of taurine deficiency in rats found that taurine deficiency resulted in atrophic cardiac remodeling. The structural changes were associated with impaired cardiac function, including decreased ejection fraction as well as systolic and diastolic dysfunction.²⁵

In human studies, taurine intake led to improvements in:^18,26,27

• Heart function, including left ventricular function, and
• Exercise tolerance.

In Japan, taurine was approved as a treatment for patients with heart failure in 1985. Since then, it has been used to improve heart function and increase exercise capacity. It has also become a topic of interest for scientists worldwide due to its potential benefits in aging, mitochondrial diseases, metabolic syndrome, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurological disorders.⁸

Vascular Effects

Taurine may provide vascular benefits in several different ways. Preclinical research has shown that it supports the production of endothelial nitric oxide (NO), which is a compound that, when released from the endothelium (inner arterial lining) leads to vasodilation, improved blood flow, and a decreased risk of endothelial dysfunction.^21,28

Other research suggests that taurine may be able to reduce the risk of atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaque in the arteries) and cardiovascular events by modulation of lipids, and lowering inflammation. In animal models, taurine supplements have shrunk atherosclerotic plaques and improved blood vessel function.^24,29,30

In a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 120 people with prehypertension were randomized to receive 1.6 grams of taurine or placebo daily for 12 weeks. Those who supplemented with taurine had significantly improved vasodilation and, on average, systolic pressure fell by 7.2 mm Hg, which was over two-and-a-half times more than the placebo group.¹²

Meta-analyses which combined the results of multiple randomized-controlled trials have found a range of vascular benefits from taurine supplementation:

• Reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure to a clinically significant degree. The average reductions were about 3 mmHg each in an analysis of studies evaluating blood pressure changes in dosages of 1,000-6,000 mg daily over periods ranging from one day to 12 weeks. The studies included a range of subjects, from young healthy and recreationally active to elderly and diseased.¹⁴
• Lowered triglycerides, cholesterol, and blood pressure in an analysis of people with metabolic or liver dysregulation receiving 500-6,000 mg daily for 15 days to six months.¹³
• In participants of varying age, health, and training status, taurine enhanced endurance exercise performance in analyses that evaluated 1,000-6,000 mg dosages daily for up two weeks. The greatest performance improvements were observed in the elderly with heart failure.²⁶

All of these effects may help reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease.

People today are supplementing with 1,000-6,000 mg a day of taurine.³¹ Those with kidney impairment should avoid high taurine doses as it can overwhelm the ability of weakened kidneys to efficiently clear taurine.

Summary

Cells throughout the body require the amino acid taurine to function optimally.

In clinical studies, taurine improved heart function and reduced cholesterol, blood pressure, and triglycerides, supporting optimal cardiovascular health.

If you have any questions on the scientific content of this article, please call a Life Extension Wellness Specialist at 1-866-864-3027.

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