Taurine as a functional ingredient: Dietary sources, non-thermal extraction technologies, purification, potential health benefits and its applications.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review synthesizing food processing technology, dietary sources, and general health mechanisms without systematic methodology.
PubMed 41475256 · doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.147743
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on dietary sources of taurine, non-thermal extraction methods (such as ultrasound-assisted extraction, enzymatic hydrolysis, and pulsed electric fields), purification strategies, the impact of food processing, and potential physiological health applications.
What was found
The abstract reports no quantitative values or effect sizes. It qualitatively reports that seafood, meat, and organ meats are rich dietary sources; non-thermal extraction methods enhance taurine recovery compared to conventional techniques; thermal and mechanical processing cause significant nutrient losses; and taurine exerts antioxidant, metabolic, cardiovascular, hepatic, and modest ergogenic effects.
Why it matters
It consolidates current food science technologies for extracting and preserving functional taurine for human and pet nutrition, outlining practical manufacturing hurdles and processing losses.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative data, search strategy, or systematic inclusion criteria. Evidence for physiological benefits is generalized from mixed preclinical and clinical literature, and the authors note that large-scale human clinical trials are still required to optimize dosing and establish efficacy.
Cited by
- supports No clinical trial has ever imaged human arterial plaque in response to taurine supplementation.