IRP researchers conclude that taurine is unlikely to be a good aging biomarker

Thursday, June 5, 2025

Findings show this amino acid did not longitudinally decline with age

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that levels of circulating taurine, a conditionally essential amino acid involved in multiple important biological functions, is unlikely to serve as a good biomarker for the aging process. In blood samples from humans, monkeys, and mice, scientists found that circulating taurine levels often increased or remained constant with age. Analysis of longitudinal data showed that within individual differences in taurine levels often exceeded age-related changes. Researchers also found that taurine levels were inconsistently associated with health outcomes across age, species, and cohorts, suggesting that declining taurine is not a universal marker of aging. Instead, its impact may depend on individual physiological contexts shaped by genetic, nutritional, and environmental factors. Results are published in Science.

Taurine recently gained popularity as dietary supplement due to recent research that found supplementation with taurine improved multiple age-related traits and extended lifespan in model organisms (worms and mice). However, there is no solid clinical data that shows its supplementation benefits humans.

“A recent research article on taurine led us to evaluate this molecule as a potential biomarker of aging in multiple species,” said Rafael de Cabo, Ph.D., study co-author and chief of the Translational Gerontology Branch at NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA).