Effects of diets with whole plant-origin proteins added with different ratios of taurine:methionine on the growth, macrophage activity and antioxidant capacity of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) fingerlings

Taurine induces hormesis in multiple biological models: May have transformative implications for overall societal health

This paper represents the first integrative assessment and documentation of taurine-induced hormetic effects in the biological and biomedical areas, their dose response features, mechanistic frameworks, and possible public health, therapeutic and commercial applications. Taurine-induced hormetic effects are documented in a wide range of experimental models, cell types and for numerous biological endpoints, with most of these experimental findings being reported within the past five years. It is suggested that the concept of hormesis may have a transformative effect on taurine research and its public health and therapeutic applications.

Effects of taurine on rumen fermentation, nutrient digestion, rumen bacterial community and metabolomics and nitrogen metabolism in beef steers

BACKGROUND

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of taurine on rumen fermentation, rumen bacterial community and metabolomics, nitrogen metabolism and plasma biochemical parameters in beef steers. Six castrated Simmental steers (liveweight 402 ± 34 kg) and three levels of taurine (0, 20, 40 g d^-1 ) were assigned in a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design. Each experimental period included 15 days for adaptation and 5 days for sampling.

RESULTS

Supplementing taurine did not affect the ruminal pH or concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and volatile fatty acids (P > 0.10), but linearly increased the ruminal concentrations of taurine (P < 0.001) and microbial crude protein (P = 0.041). Supplementing taurine linearly increased the neutral detergent fiber digestibility (P = 0.018), and tended to linearly increase dry matter digestibility (P = 0.095), tended to increase the fecal nitrogen excretion (P = 0.065) and increased the urinary taurine excretion (P < 0.001). Supplementing taurine quadratically increased the plasma concentration of triglycerides (P = 0.017), tended to linearly decrease growth hormone (P = 0.074), but did not affect other plasma parameters (P > 0.10). Supplementing taurine modified the rumen bacterial community and increased the ruminal concentration of taurine metabolite 2-hydroxyethoxysulfonic acid (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

It was concluded that taurine improved ruminal microbial crude protein synthesis and increased fiber digestibility through modifying rumen bacterial community. It is necessary to clarify the ruminal hydrolysis of taurine in steers. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Biomedical applications of methionine-based systems

Methionine (Met), an essential amino acid in the human body, possesses versatile features based on its chemical modification, cell metabolism and metabolic derivatives. Benefitting from its multifunctional properties, Met holds immense potential for biomedical applications. In this review, we systematically summarize the recent progress in Met-based strategies for biomedical applications. First, given the unique structural characteristics of Met, two chemical modification methods are briefly introduced. Subsequently, due to the disordered metabolic state of tumor cells, applications of Met in cancer treatment and diagnosis are summarized in detail. Furthermore, the efficacy of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), as the most important metabolic derivative of Met, for treating liver diseases is mentioned. Finally, we analyze the current challenges and development trends of Met in the biomedical field, and suggest that Met-restriction therapy might be a promising approach to treat COVID-19.

A synergy of the nutritional additives taurine and silymarin in salmon farming: evaluation with the CHSE-214 cellular model

The use of additives in the feed industry for producing fish has become the focus of constant change and research. The formulation of a product as a feeding strategy leads to the use of more than one molecule with particular characteristics to seek a synergistic effect when they are administered in the food. The application of taurine and silymarin in the salmon farming industry needs the exploration of the synergistic effects. For this study, we evaluated the effects of various concentrations of additives in the cell line CHSE-214 of Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. The cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of hydrogen peroxide as an oxidizing agent and were then given treatments of taurine, silymarin or both additives together. Our results indicate that the molecules had separate antioxidant effects, and the taurine treatment reached the highest number of cells per area at a dose of 100 ppm. However, if the cells were treated together at 100 ppm, silymarin achieved outstanding effects. However, when the treatment with both molecules was increased to 500 ppm of taurine, the effect was blocked, and the treatment acted as an antagonist. Our data indicate that the formulation of diets must be rigorously carried out, especially for determining the doses to be used to generate synergy among antioxidant additives and to reduce the effect of antagonism between the additives. Likewise, the use of cell lines is a strategy to evaluate the mechanisms of action for additives that are used in the development of diets for the salmon industry.

Plant protein diet suppressed immune function by inhibiting spiral valve intestinal mucosal barrier integrity, anti-oxidation, apoptosis, autophagy and proliferation responses in amur sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii)

An 8-week growth trial was conducted to investigate the effects of replacing dietary fishmeal with a plant protein blend on the growth performance, mucosal barrier integrity and the related regulation mechanism in Amur Sturgeon (Acipenser schrenckii) with initial weight of 87.48 g. Three isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets were prepared. A basal diet containing 540 g/kg fishmeal (P0), whereas the other two diets were formulated by replacing 50% and 100% of FM with plant protein blend (soybean protein concentrate and cottonseed protein concentrate), and named as P50 and P100, respectively. Although essential amino acids, fatty acids, and available phosphorus had been balanced according to the nutrient requirement of sturgeon, compared with the fish of P0 and P50, the full plant protein diet (P100) significantly reduced growth performance and survival, and accompanied with serious spiral valve intestinal (SVI) damage. The increased tissue necrosis and failed responses in anti-oxidation, programming apoptosis, autophagy and cell proliferation system were regulated by inhibiting ERK1 phosphorylation, which indicated that SVI hypoimmunity and functional degradation were the main reasons for the high mortality and low utilization ability of plant protein in Amur sturgeon.

Effects of dietary taurine on growth, non-specific immunity, anti-oxidative properties and gut immunity in the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis

Taurine has been widely researched as a growth-promoting additive or as an antioxidant in aquatic animals because of its multiple functions, however, few studies have explored its effects on crustacean in spite of the occurrence of serious diseases. We studied the effects of taurine supplementation on the growth, non-specific immunity, anti-oxidative properties and gut immunity of the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis. Healthy crabs (8.0 ± 0.5 g) were fed diets supplemented with taurine at 0% (control), 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.6% for 65 days. At the end of this 65 days feeding trial, the final weight, weight gain, specific growth rate, and feed conversion ratio were best in crabs fed the 0.4% taurine diet, followed by that in those fed the 0.8% taurine diet; the parameters were worst for the control group. Carapace length (CL) and carapace width (CW) were significantly increased in the crab fed the 0.4% and 0.8% taurine diet than that of the other three groups. Total haemocyte count (THC) and acid phosphatase (ACP) activity were significantly higher in the crab fed the 0.8% taurine diet than in those belonging to the other groups, the crabs fed the 0.4% taurine diet had the highest phenoloxidase (PO), lysozyme (LZM), and alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activities, however, there was no obvious change in their haemocyanin (Hc) content. According to superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione Peroxidase (GSH-PX), total anti-oxidant capacity (T-AOC) activities and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, the antioxidant capacity was significantly induced by taurine diet, while was higher in crabs fed 0.4 %-0.8% taurine diet than that of the other groups. Taurine supplementation significantly up-regulated the expression of gut immune genes (EsToll2, EsRelish) and antimicrobial peptides (EsALF1, EsALF2, EsCrus1, EsCrus2) in crabs gut fed the 0.2-0.8% taurine diet group compared to control. Thus, these study results indicate that dietary taurine is important for improving growth, regulating immunity, and enhancing the antioxidant capacity in crabs, with the recommended optimum dietary allowance being 0.4 %-0.8% taurine for E. sinensis.