Taurine supplementation improves the utilization of sulfur-containing amino acids in rats continually administrated alcohol

Investigation of the effects of in ovo taurine injection on hatching characteristics and stress reduction potential

BACKGROUND

In ovo application is the process of administering some nutrients or components into the egg. The main purpose of this application is to ensure that some nutrients are provided to chicks with a short incubation period. Few studies were conducted with taurine in fertile eggs; especially, no observation of hatchability and chick quality has been found. In addition, taurine has an anti-stress impact that fights oxidative factors.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the hatchability and chick quality after in ovo taurine administration. To determine the stress that may occur as a result of in ovo application and whether taurine has a stress-reducing effect.

METHODS

A total of 1200 fertile eggs from a 34-week-old broiler breeder (Ross 308) flock were categorized into 4 groups with 75 eggs per replicate: control (uninjected), taurine group (0.30 mL dissolved taurine in distilled water), sham control (sterile distilled water) and perforation (eggs perforated and then waxed). On day 14 of incubation, an in ovo injection was administered to the albumen. Data on hatching parameters and hepatic HSP70 levels were obtained using relevant formulas and western blotting, respectively.

RESULTS

Control chicks exhibited higher hatchability than other groups, with the taurine group showing the lowest hatchability. The HSP70 levels were the highest in the perforation group compared to the control group. An increase of 21.37% in the taurine group and 83.45% in the sham control group was observed compared to the control group.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that in ovo application may induce increased stress, whereas taurine may have positive effects in mitigating the stress caused by in ovo application.

Nutrition and Risk of Stroke

Nutrition is far more important in stroke risk than most physcians suppose. Healthy lifestyle choices reduce the risk of stroke by ~80%, and of the factors that increase the risk of stroke, the worst is diet: only ~0.1% of Americans consume a healthy diet, and only 8.3% consume a somewhat healthy diet. The situation is probably not much better in most other countries. A Cretan Mediterranean diet, high in olive oil, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and legumes, and low in cholesterol and saturated fat, can reduce stroke by 40% or more in high-risk patients. The role of the intestinal microbiome in cardiovascular risk is emerging; high levels of toxic metabolites produced by intestinal bacteria from meat (particularly red meat) and egg yolk are renally excreted. Patients with renal impairment, including the elderly, should limit red meat and avoid egg yolk, as should other patients at high risk of stroke. Salt intake should be limited to 2–3 grams per day. Metabolic B12 deficiency is common and usually missed. It has serious neurological consequences, including an increase in the risk of stroke. It now clear that B vitamins to lower homocysteine reduce the risk of stroke, but we should probably be using methylcobalamin instead of cyanocobalamin.

Effects of S-Adenosylmethionine and Its Combinations With Taurine and/or Betaine on Glutathione Homeostasis in Ethanol-induced Acute Hepatotoxicity

Background

Exposure to ethanol abuse and severe oxidative stress are risk factors for hepatocarcinoma. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) and its combinations with taurine and/or betaine on the level of glutathione (GSH), a powerful antioxidant in the liver, in acute hepatotoxicity induced by ethanol.

Methods

To examine the effects of SAMe and its combinations with taurine and/or betaine on ethanol-induced hepatotoxicity, AML12 cells and C57BL/6 mice were pretreated with SAMe, taurine, and/or betaine, followed by ethanol challenge. Cell viability was detected with an MTT assay. GSH concentration and mRNA levels of GSH synthetic enzymes were measured using GSH reductase and quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-PCR. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities were measured with commercially available kits.

Results

Pretreatment of SAMe, with or without taurine and/or betaine, attenuated decreases in GSH levels and mRNA expression of the catalytic subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL), the rate-limiting enzyme for GSH synthesis, in ethanol-treated cells and mice. mRNA levels of the modifier subunit of GCL and glutathione synthetase were increased in mice treated with SAMe combinations. SAMe, taurine, and/or betaine pretreatment restored serum ALT and AST levels to control levels in the ethanol-treated group.

Conclusions

Combinations of SAMe with taurine and/or betaine have a hepatoprotective effect against ethanol-induced liver injury by maintaining GSH homeostasis.

Hypotensive effect of S-adenosyl-L-methionine in hypertensive rats is reduced by autonomic ganglia and KATP channel blockers

S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) is an amino acid involved in a number of physiological processes in the nervous system. Some evidence suggests a therapeutic potential of SAM in hypertension. In this study we investigated the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusions of SAM on arterial blood pressure in rats. Mean arterial blood pressure (MABP) and heart rate (HR) were measured at baseline and during ICV infusion of either SAM or vehicle (aCSF; controls) in conscious, male normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR). MABP and HR were not affected by the vehicle. WKY rats infused with SAM (10 μM, 100 μM and 1 mM) showed a biphasic hemodynamic response i.e., mild hypotension and bradycardia followed by a significant increase in MABP and HR. On the contrary, SHR infused with SAM showed a dose-dependent hypotensive response. In separate series of experiments, pretreatment with hexamethonium, a ganglionic blocker as well as pretreatment with glibenclamide, a KATP channel blocker reduced the hemodynamic effects of SAM. SAM may affect the nervous control of arterial blood pressure via the autonomic nervous system and KATP channel-dependent mechanisms.

Reduced plasma taurine level in Parkinson's disease: association with motor severity and levodopa treatment

PURPOSE

This study aimed to evaluate the level of taurine in plasma, and its association with the severity of motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS) and chronic levodopa treatment in Parkinson's disease (PD).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Plasma taurine level was measured in treated PD (tPD), untreated PD (ntPD) and control groups. Motor symptoms and NMS were assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Hamilton Depression Scale, the Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease for Autonomic Symptoms and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Longtime exposure to levodopa was indicated by its approximate cumulative dosage.

RESULTS

The plasma taurine levels of PD patients were decreased when compared with controls and negatively associated with motor severity but not NMS. Moreover, tPD patients exhibited lower levels of plasma taurine than ntPD patients. Interestingly, plasma taurine levels negatively correlated with cumulative levodopa dosage in tPD. After controlling for potential confounders, the association between taurine and levodopa remained significant.

CONCLUSION

Our study supports that taurine may play important roles in the pathophysiology of PD and the disturbances caused by chronic levodopa administration.

Protective role of taurine in developing offspring affected by maternal alcohol consumption

Maternal alcohol consumption is known to affect offspring growth and development, including growth deficits, physical anomalies, impaired brain functions and behavioral disturbances. Taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is essential during development, and continually found to be protective against neurotoxicity and various tissue damages including those from alcohol exposure. However, it is still unknown whether taurine can exert its protection during development of central nervous system and whether it can reverse alcohol damages on developed brain later in life. This study aims to investigate protective roles of taurine against maternal alcohol consumption on growth and development of offspring. The experimental protocol was conducted using ICR-outbred pregnant mice given 10 % alcohol, with or without maternal taurine supplementation during gestation and lactation. Pregnancy outcomes, offspring mortality and successive bodyweight until adult were monitored. Adult offspring is supplemented taurine to verify its ability to reverse damages on learning and memory through a water maze task performance. Our results demonstrate that offspring of maternal alcohol exposure, together with maternal taurine supplementation show conserved learning and memory, while that of offspring treated taurine later in life are disturbed. Taurine provides neuroprotective effects and preserves learning and memory processes when given together with maternal alcohol consumption, but not shown such effects when given exclusively in offspring.

Taurine supplementation does not decrease homocysteine levels and liver injury induced by a choline-deficient diet

AIMS

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of taurine supplementation on homocysteine (Hcy) metabolism and liver injury in rats fed a choline-deficient diet.

MAIN METHODS

Thirty rats were divided into three groups (n=10), to receive one of the following diets for 4 weeks: control diet (C), choline-deficient diet (CDD), or choline-deficient diet supplemented with taurine (CDDT). The CDD and the CDDT consisted of AIN-93 without the recommended choline content of 2.5%, and the CDDT was supplemented by the addition of 2.5% taurine.

KEY FINDINGS

Four weeks of ingesting a CDD resulted in a significant increase in plasma Hcy (50%) as well as a decrease in liver S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) concentration and S-adenosylmethionine/S-adenosylhomocysteine ratio. No changes were found in plasma methionine and cysteine plasma levels compared to control group. Four weeks of ingesting a CDD also caused a significant (P<0.05) increase in hepatic total fat, hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA), and plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels. In addition, reduced hepatic glutathione (GSH) levels and reduced/oxidized glutathione ratios (GSH/GSSG) were found in rats fed a CDD compared to controls. Taurine supplementation of the CDD normalized genes involved in the remethylation pathway, BHMT and CHDH, which were impaired by CDD alone. However, taurine supplementation failed to prevent CDD-induced Hcy metabolism disturbances and hepatic injury. Also, taurine added to CDD caused decreased expression of PEMT, CHKa, and CHKb, key genes involved in phosphatidylcholine (PC) synthesis and liver fat accumulation.

SIGNIFICANCE

Taurine supplementation failed to ameliorate impaired Hcy metabolism and liver injury caused by CDD intake.

Taurine in milk and yoghurt marketed in Italy

Taurine, a free amino acid, was studied as natural compound of different typologies of milk: pasteurized, ultra-high temperature (UHT), microfiltered whole and semi-skimmed cow's milk; pasteurized and UHT goat's whole milk and raw buffalo's whole milk. Moreover, taurine contents in yoghurt from cow and goat's milk were evaluated. The data obtained in this research showed that no significant variations of taurine occurred in cow's milk subjected to different technological processes and between whole and semi-skimmed milk. The amount of taurine was less (p < 0.05) in cow's milk (0.60 mg/100 g) than in goat and buffalo's milk (6.55 and 7.32 mg/100 g, respectively). No significant differences in taurine occurred between goat and buffalo's samples. The amounts of taurine in yoghurt reflected, substantially, the content of this molecule in the milk of the relevant animal species. These results are noteworthy because data available in the literature on this molecule in commercial dairy products are old or few.

Radiation protection following nuclear power accidents: a survey of putative mechanisms involved in the radioprotective actions of taurine during and after radiation exposure

There are several animal experiments showing that high doses of ionizing radiation lead to strongly enhanced leakage of taurine from damaged cells into the extracellular fluid, followed by enhanced urinary excretion. This radiation-induced taurine depletion can itself have various harmful effects (as will also be the case when taurine depletion is due to other causes, such as alcohol abuse or cancer therapy with cytotoxic drugs), but taurine supplementation has been shown to have radioprotective effects apparently going beyond what might be expected just as a consequence of correcting the harmful consequences of taurine deficiency per se. The mechanisms accounting for the radioprotective effects of taurine are, however, very incompletely understood. In this article an attempt is made to survey various mechanisms that potentially might be involved as parts of the explanation for the overall beneficial effect of high levels of taurine that has been found in experiments with animals or isolated cells exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation. It is proposed that taurine may have radioprotective effects by a combination of several mechanisms: (1) during the exposure to ionizing radiation by functioning as an antioxidant, but perhaps more because it counteracts the prooxidant catalytic effect of iron rather than functioning as an important scavenger of harmful molecules itself, (2) after the ionizing radiation exposure by helping to reduce the intensity of the post-traumatic inflammatory response, and thus reducing the extent of tissue damage that develops because of severe inflammation rather than as a direct effect of the ionizing radiation per se, (3) by functioning as a growth factor helping to enhance the growth rate of leukocytes and leukocyte progenitor cells and perhaps also of other rapidly proliferating cell types, such as enterocyte progenitor cells, which may be important for immunological recovery and perhaps also for rapid repair of various damaged tissues, especially in the intestines, and (4) by functioning as an antifibrogenic agent. A detailed discussion is given of possible mechanisms involved both in the antioxidant effects of taurine, in its anti-inflammatory effects and in its role as a growth factor for leukocytes and nerve cells, which might be closely related to its role as an osmolyte important for cellular volume regulation because of the close connection between cell volume regulation and the regulation of protein synthesis as well as cellular protein degradation. While taurine supplementation alone would be expected to exert a therapeutic effect far better than negligible in patients that have been exposed to high doses of ionizing radiation, it may on theoretical grounds be expected that much better results may be obtained by using taurine as part of a multifactorial treatment strategy, where it may interact synergistically with several other nutrients, hormones or other drugs for optimizing antioxidant protection and minimizing harmful posttraumatic inflammatory reactions, while using other nutrients to optimize DNA and tissue repair processes, and using a combination of good diet, immunostimulatory hormones and perhaps other nontoxic immunostimulants (such as beta-glucans) for optimizing the recovery of antiviral and antibacterial immune functions. Similar multifactorial treatment strategies may presumably be helpful in several other disease situations (including severe infectious diseases and severe asthma) as well as for treatment of acute intoxications or acute injuries (both mechanical ones and severe burns) where severely enhanced oxidative and/or nitrative stress and/or too much secretion of vasodilatory neuropeptides from C-fibres are important parts of the pathogenetic mechanisms that may lead to the death of the patient. Some case histories (with discussion of some of those mechanisms that may have been responsible for the observed therapeutic outcome) are given for illustration of the likely validity of these concepts and their relevance both for treatment of severe infections and non-infectious inflammatory diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis.

Fruiting body of Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata) protects livers against chronic alcohol consumption damage

An alcoholic fatty liver disease was induced by drinking water containing 20% (w/w) alcohol. Therapeutic groups were orally administrated dosages of 0.25 g silymarin/kg body weight (BW) and a low dosage of Niuchangchih (Antrodia camphorata) (0.025 g/kg BW) and a high dosage of Niuchangchih (0.1 g/kg BW) per day. Niuchangchih, especially at the high dosage, not only showed a hypercholesterolemic effect (p < 0.05) but also reduced (p < 0.05) hepatic lipids in alcohol-fed rats. Those beneficial effects could be partially attributed to higher (p < 0.05) fecal cholesterol and bile acid outputs, as well as downregulations (p < 0.05) of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, and malic enzyme gene expressions; meanwhile, there was an upregulation of low-density lipoprotein receptor and peroxisome proliferator-activated alpha gene expression. Besides, Niuchangchih also enhanced (p < 0.05) the liver glutathione, Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity, and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase and decreased the liver malondialdehyde content, which also partially contributed to the lowered (p < 0.05) serum aspartate aminotransferase levels and no observed lesion in the histological examination of alcohol-fed rats.