Role of taurine in the pathogenesis of obesity.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of animal models, human observational associations, and biological mechanisms
PubMed 25787113 · doi:10.1002/mnfr.201500067
What was done
This narrative review summarizes literature on the physiological roles of taurine, its impact on obesity progression in animal models and humans, and potential cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying anti-obesity effects.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values or effect sizes. It qualitatively reports that taurine ingestion alleviates hyperlipidemia, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity in animal models; 24-hour urinary taurine excretion inversely associates with BMI, blood pressure, and plasma cholesterol in a human epidemiological survey; taurine chloramine suppresses adipocyte oxidative stress and inflammation; and taurine synthesis and concentrations in adipose tissue and plasma decrease during obesity development in both humans and animals.
Why it matters
The review organizes evidence linking taurine deficiency to obesity and metabolic syndrome, highlighting taurine pathways as potential therapeutic targets.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review without systematic search criteria, quality appraisal, or quantitative synthesis. Causal intervention data come primarily from animal models, whereas human evidence is limited to observational associations.
Cited by
- supports The liver conjugates taurine with bile acids to form bile salts, which assist in eliminating cholesterol through the gut.