牛磺酸是哪年被科学家发现的：英闻独家摘选，动物研究

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What is taurine, and could it really be the supplement to slow down ageing?

Scientists have been studying taurine for 200 years, but its real potential has only been uncovered relatively recently

From Jeff Bezos to Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, the world’s billionaires, and their quest for immortality, have been driving a renewed interest in longevity supplements over the past two years.

But for all their wacky investments – from stem cells to blood transfusions from teenagers – could the real elixir of life turn out to be an amino acid that is commonly found in Red Bull and other energy drinks?

Scientists have been studying taurine for 200 years, but its real potential has only been uncovered relatively recently. Last week, an international team of researchers published a study in the prestigious journal Science where they showed that giving taurine to middle-aged mice increased their lifespan by 10 to 12 per cent – the equivalent of an extra decade in humans.

Intriguingly, not only did the animals live longer, but they seemed to be healthier. Similar benefits were found when taurine was given to middle-aged rhesus macaques for six months. The supplement prevented weight gain, increased bone density and improved their immune systems. But what about the benefits for humans?

Vijay Yadav, an assistant professor at Columbia University, in New York, who led the study, told the Telegraph that the findings suggest that taurine could be a way of reversing some of the biological processes of ageing.

“With age, taurine levels in our body start to decline for reasons we don’t fully understand,” he says. “Babies are very dependent on taurine for growth, and it’s found in very high levels in breast milk, but in old age, our taurine levels are 80 per cent lower. To me, it’s exciting to see if by boosting taurine, we can alter some of the ageing processes.”

Why is everyone so excited about taurine?

Taurine has long been popular with bodybuilders and athletes, who take it as a supplement to try and control their body temperature and reduce muscle fatigue during competition.

But more and more research is suggesting that maintaining sufficient levels of taurine may be crucial for health in later life. When Yadav and his colleagues examined taurine in 12,000 European adults over the age of 60, they found that higher levels were linked to fewer cases of type 2 diabetes, less obesity, reduced hypertension and lower inflammation.

Similar benefits have been identified by researchers at Victoria University, in Melbourne, who found that taurine shows potential for improving cardiovascular health, as well as preventing the harmful accumulation of cholesterol and fat within the arteries. This is based on various studies in animals or by studying cells in the lab.

“As well as extending the lifespan and healthspan of animals, taurine seems to target most of the hallmarks of ageing,” says Nir Barzilai, founding director of the Institute for Ageing Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York, and a pioneer of anti-ageing drugs, or gerotherapeutics. “I’m very excited for any progress in this field. We’re seeing more and more gerotherapeutics starting to emerge.”

How does taurine work in the body?

While amino acids usually help build various proteins in the body, taurine has a markedly different function. Research suggests that it acts across multiple organ systems, protecting the brain by regulating the amount of calcium within nerve cells – a nutrient that is crucial for memory and other cognitive functions – as well as controlling inflammation in the heart and blood vessels.

Back in the 1980s, Japanese doctors began giving taurine supplements to patients who had suffered heart failure, in an attempt to improve their exercise capacity. Multiple clinical trials have since shown that it can offer benefit, helping them to become more active. One of the reasons for this is that taurine appears to be capable of enhancing the function of mitochondria, the power factories within our cells that give us energy.

Yadav says it is notable that when taurine was given to middle-aged mice, it led to multiple health benefits. “Taurine supplementation reduced their body-fat percentage, increased their bone density and made their muscles function better – they had better muscle strength, better neuromuscular co-ordination and could run for longer on a treadmill,” he says. “They had more blood-glucose and insulin tolerance, and they also seemed to be less anxious and fearful in their behaviour, and their memory was working better.”

However, scientists caution that we still need to know more about the effects of taurine in humans. To begin with, the mice in Yadav’s study were given high doses of taurine – 1g per kilogram of body weight per day. He told the Telegraph that the human-adjusted version of this daily dosage would work out at between 3g-6g of taurine, although this has yet to be tested.

“We need a clinical study to show that it can demonstrate these benefits in us, as well,” says Barzilai.

How do you take it?

Taurine supplements can be bought from most health-food stores, although scientists are still trying to figure out what amount of taurine would be most beneficial for a human.

“Our research suggests that between 100mg and 500mg of taurine per day should be adequate for health benefits, such as for the cardiovascular system,” says Anthony Zulli, a professor at Victoria University, who studies taurine.

Zulli and his colleagues have also found that taking a version of taurine combined with black-pepper extract may be superior to taurine alone, enabling it to be absorbed more effectively into the bloodstream.

How does taurine make you feel?

So far, most of what we know about how taurine makes you feel comes from anecdotal descriptions from runners and gym-goers, who say that it gives them more energy and makes them feel less anxious.

Some reports suggest that it causes slight drowsiness, meaning that it might be best to take the supplement before bedtime. This may seem counterintuitive, with taurine being found in Red Bull, but the drink’s renowned kick comes from the caffeine rather than the taurine.

How to boost the taurine in your diet?

While taurine is found in Red Bull, this isn’t the recommended way of increasing your intake of the supplement. As Yadav points out, energy drinks also contain many other ingredients that are not so beneficial for your heart and health.

“I would not go there,” he says. “Energy drinks have lots of other molecules, such as caffeine, while many of them are loaded with sugar.”

Instead, taurine is commonly found in meat, eggs and particularly shellfish. Mussels, shrimps, scallops, oysters and clams are all packed with taurine. “If you look at shellfish, they have approximately one milligram of taurine per gram,” says Yadav. This means that mussels in their shells, for example, weigh about 22g each, so eating six of them will give you around 132mg of taurine.

Another easy way of getting more taurine in your body is simply to do any form of moderate exercise, such as an exercise-bike session. When Yadav and his team measured taurine levels before and after a cycling workout, they found a significant increase.

Does taurine have any side effects – is it safe?

In 2012, the European Food Safety Authority suggested that you can safely take up to 6g of taurine per day. While some people have reported side effects after taking taurine, ranging from nausea to stomach pain, it is unclear whether this was due to the taurine itself or a different supplement taken alongside it.

Scientists overall believe taurine to be a safe supplement.

“To date, there are no long-term studies, over five or 10 years, to determine the safety of taurine,” says Zulli. “However, taurine is extremely unlikely to cause negative effects. Although, as taurine is cleared in the kidney, those with kidney disease should be cautioned regarding high-dose supplementation.”

注释：

taurine: n

表示" 牛磺酸"，means "a colorless crystalline substance obtained from the bile of mammals"，如：Taurine can be widely used in drug, food, feed and organic synthesis. 牛磺酸可广泛应用于医药、食品、饲料、有机合成等领域。

wacky: adj

表示" (行为等)古怪的；愚蠢的"，means "ludicrous, foolish"，如：They came dressed in wacky costumes for the "Black Ball" street parade. 他们身着奇里古怪的衣服参加“黑球”大街的游行。

Intriguingly: adj

表示"有趣地；有魅力地"，如：So far, early interest has been intriguingly high. 现在，你对此感兴趣了吧。Intriguingly, similar ideas crop up in mainstream theories. 有趣的是，类似的想法在主流理论之中已有斩获。

rhesus macaque: n

rhesus表示"恒河猴"，means "=rhesus monkey"， macaque表示“短尾猿；猕猴”， means "short-tailed monkey of rocky regions of Asia and Africa", 如：Diabetic animals, old dogs and elderly rhesus monkeys given the compound daily for three weeks yielded spectacular results. 患有糖尿病的动物，老龄狗，及上了年纪的恒河猴如每天接受此种药物治疗，三星期后会产生令人瞩目的效果。Inside this room sits a motionless macaque monkey.这房间里坐着一个不动的猕猴。

gerotherapeutics: n

表示"动疗法"，

mitochondria: n

表示" 线粒体"，如：They have also been isolated from mitochondria. 目前已从线粒体中分离出铁硫蛋白。

neuromuscular: adj

表示" 神经肌肉的"，means "affecting or characteristic of both neural and muscular tissu"，如：his, he surmises, probably requires specialized neuromuscular control. 他推测这可能需要特定的神经肌肉控制。

insulin: n

表示" 胰岛素"，如：They were all dependent on supplemental insulin. 他们都依赖于外源胰岛素。

anecdotal: adj

表示" 轶事的；趣闻的"，如：That book is pleasantly anecdotal. 那本书中有许多有趣的轶事。

counterintuitive: adj

表示"违反直觉的"，means "contrary to what common sense would suggest"，如：That seems counterintuitive, which makes it a common mistake.这是常见的错误，看起来是违反直觉的。

Mussel：n

表示"贻贝, 淡菜"，means "black marine bivalves usually steamed in wine"，如：Paul is then left to choose one box to open to retrieve the mussel. 然后让保罗选择打开其中一个箱子来获得贻贝。

scallop: n

表示" 扇贝"，means "edible muscle of mollusks having fan-shaped shells; served broiled or poached or in salads or cream sauces"，如：Here is your fried rice with scallop, sir. 这是您的干贝炒饭，先生。

中文简要说明：

日前不少媒体报导，指能量饮料中的关键成分「牛磺酸」（taurine）能有效推迟衰老、促进身体的健康状态，相关研究在老鼠身上获得证实，也让不少人开始关注，牛磺酸运用在人类身上是否会出现相同效果。尽管目前还缺乏大规模的临床实验，但专家已经指出，适量补充牛磺酸的确有益人体健康，特别是在心血管系统方面，而补充的时间点以睡前为宜，并建议搭配黑胡椒萃取物一起食用，提高血液的吸收率。

根据英国《每日电讯报》报导，牛磺酸的好处早已普遍获得跑者和健身爱好者的青睐，不少人宣称，额外摄取这种营养剂让他们感到更有活力，同时有助于减轻焦虑感，许多能量饮料也以牛磺酸为必要成分。目前已知让老鼠服用牛磺酸，除了能改善健康外，也能有效延长寿命，雄性老鼠的寿命平均提高10%、雌性小鼠则是12%，相当于多活3到4个月。

不过针对适合人体摄取的牛磺酸剂量，目前医学相关研究还没有做出定论。长期进行相关研究的澳洲维多利亚大学的祖礼（Anthony Zulli）教授认为，人体每天的摄取量应以100毫克至500毫克为宜，并建议搭配黑胡椒萃取物，增加血液的吸收速度。相较之下，欧洲食品安全局（European Food Safety Authority）在2012年提出的标准则宽松许多，一天摄取6公克以内牛磺酸都属于安全范围。

此外，由于能量饮料中的*********和含糖比例偏高，因此专家不推荐以此作为补充来源，建议从贝类、牡蛎、甲壳类、肉类和鸡蛋中摄取。以贝类为例，每1公克贝肉约含有1毫克牛磺酸，可说是相当好的天然食物。

运动则是另一种增加体内牛磺酸的方式。哥伦比亚大学的亚达夫（Vijay Yadav）博士经过测量，发现自行车骑士在运动后，体内牛磺酸的水平明显上升，说明适度运动能帮助人体自我修补，产生因老化而流失的牛磺酸。

另外专家也提到，部分研究显示牛磺酸会引发倦怠感，建议睡前食用为宜。另外有民众指出，吃了含牛磺酸的保健食品后出现恶心、胃痛的症状，专家则认为，有可能是其他添加物造成这些副作用，未来仍需进一步研究，才能了解对身体的真正影响。

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