Taurine

Taurine reduces exercise-induced oxidative stress while improving measures of performance:

Amino Acids. 2004 Mar;26(2):203-7. Epub 2003 May 9. 

    Role of taurine supplementation to prevent exercise-induced oxidative stress in healthy young men.

    Zhang M, Izumi I, Kagamimori S, Sokejima S, Yamagami T, Liu Z, Qi B.

    Department of Welfare Promotion and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan.

    To evaluate the protective effects of taurine supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress and exercise performance, eleven men aged 18-20 years were selected to participate in two identical bicycle ergometer exercises until exhaustion. Single cell gel assay (SCG assay) was used to study DNA damage in white blood cells (WBC). Pre-supplementation of taurine, a significant negative correlation was found between plasma taurine concentration before exercise and plasma thiobaribituric-acid reactive substance (TBARS) 6 hr after exercise (r = -0.642, p<0.05). WBC showed a significant increase in DNA strand breakage 6 hr and 24 hr after exercise. Seven-day taurine supplementation reduced serum TBARS before exercise ( p<0.05) and resulted in a significantly reduced DNA migration 24 hr after exercise ( p<0.01). Significant increases were also found in VO(2)max, exercise time to exhaustion and maximal workload in test with taurine supplementation ( p<0.05). After supplementation, the change in taurine concentration showed positive correlations with the changes in exercise time to exhaustion and maximal workload. The results suggest that taurine may attenuate exercise-induced DNA damage and enhance the capacity of exercise due to its cellular protective properties.

    PMID: 15042451 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

PDRhealth.com

ACTIONS
Taurine has antioxidant activity. It has putative hypocholesterolemic, hypotensive, antiatherogenic and detoxifying activities. It may also have steatorrhea-reducing activity in those with cystic fibrosis and has putative antidiabetic, inotropic and antiseizure activities.

INDICATIONS AND USAGE
Taurine may be helpful in some with congestive heart failure and hypertension. It has demonstrated some antiatherogenic effects in both animal and human studies. There is the suggestion, mostly from animal data, that taurine might improve glucose tolerance and protect against some toxins. Some older studies suggest it might have some antiseizure activity. There is preliminary evidence that it might be helpful in some with cystic fibrosis.

RESEARCH SUMMARY
In a study of 24 subjects with congestive heart failure, administration of 2 grams of taurine, twice a day, resulted in clinical improvement in 19 patients. Roentgenographic data helped confirm the improvement. These positive results were subsequently confirmed in a double-blind, randomized, crossover, placebo-controlled study in which taurine was added to conventional treatment for a four-week period. Compared with placebo, taurine produced significant improvement as evaluated by a number of measures, including chest films. In still another study, supplemental taurine, but not coenzyme Q10, was said to have significant benefit in patients with congestive heart failure secondary to ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. This was a double-blind study using 3 grams of taurine daily.

Taurine has demonstrated hypotensive effects in some animal studies. In humans, it has lowered blood pressure in borderline hypertensive patients using 6 grams of taurine daily for seven days. Lipid-lowering effects have been seen in animals, but human data are few and contradictory. There is some preliminary evidence from one small study that 0.4 to 1.6 grams of taurine daily for eight days inhibited platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner. Supplementation with 1.5 grams of taurine daily decreased platelet aggregation in subjects with type 1 diabetes. Insulin sensitivity was significantly improved by taurine supplementation in a rat model of spontaneous type 2 diabetes. Serum cholesterol and triacylglycerol were decreased in the supplemented animals. Taurine was also effective in another animal model of insulin resistance.

Taurine has exerted some detoxifying effects in animal experiments. It helped prevent bleomycin-induced lung injury and fibrosis in mice. It also appeared to have protective effects, as measured by changes in memory and lipid peroxidation levels in the brain, in rats exposed to ozone. Additionally, it has inhibited ethanol-induced elevation of plasma acetaldehyde in other animal studies. In one of these, it prevented the development of ethanol-induced hypertension in rats.

In some older studies, taurine demonstrated some preliminary ability to suppress some epileptic seizures. Follow-up is needed.

Finally, taurine was shown to be of benefit in a study of 22 Canadian children with cystic fibrosis and documented steatorrhea. They were given taurine (30 mg/kg/day) and placebo during separate six-month periods. Severity of fat malabsorption was significantly reduced in most of the subjects, especially in those with the most severe steatorrhea. A more recent study, however, failed to note these benefits, but significant differences in the two study groups may account for this discrepancy. A second study by the Canadian group showed positive effects of taurine on fat absorption in cystic fibrosis patients. Again, those with the greatest malabsorption at baseline seemed to benefit the most.

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Additionally, it has inhibited ethanol-induced elevation of plasma acetaldehyde in other animal studies.

If acetaldehyde is really the primary agent responsible for alcohol hangovers, as recent Japanese research suggests, we may see a new era where "pre-gaming" means downing several grams of Taurine.

Hypertens Res. 2000 May;23(3):277-84.  Related Articles, Links

    Oral taurine supplementation prevents the development of ethanol-induced hypertension in rats.

    Harada H, Kitazaki K, Tsujino T, Watari Y, Iwata S, Nonaka H, Hayashi T, Takeshita T, Morimoto K, Yokoyama M.

    First Department of Internal Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine, Japan.

    Taurine is known to lower blood pressure in essential hypertension and some experimental hypertensive models. Taurine has also been reported to activate aldehyde dehydrogenase and to inhibit the elevation of plasma acetaldehyde concentration after ethanol intake. Because acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, is suspected to be responsible for many adverse effects of alcohol consumption, we examined the effect of taurine supplementation on ethanol-induced hypertension and abnormalities in the intracellular cation metabolism in Witar-Kyoto rats. In Study 1, systolic blood pressure and intraplatelet free calcium were significantly higher in rats who received 15% ethanol in drinking water than in control rats. Oral taurine supplementation (1% taurine and 15% ethanol in drinking water) completely prevented the development of ethanol-induced hypertension. Intraerythrocyte sodium and intraplatelet free calcium were significantly decreased in taurine-supplemented rats as compared with rats who received 15% ethanol only. In Study 2, hemoglobin-associated acetaldehyde (HbAA) was measured as a marker of protein-bound acetaldehyde. HbAA was significantly elevated in rats who received 5% ethanol in drinking water as compared with control rats. Taurine supplementation (1% taurine and 5% ethanol in drinking water) significantly decreased HbAA. Our findings suggest that the oral supplementation of taurine prevents ethanol-induced hypertension by decreasing protein bound acetaldehyde and altering the cation handling by the membrane.

    PMID: 10821139 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Someone try this and let us know if it works (not that I'm advocating binge drinking -- but if you were going to do it anyway, take some taurine in the name of science). [thumb]

Edited by FunkOdyssey, 02 June 2006 - 04:35 PM.

I can attest to taurine's ability to prevent hangovers. Along with creatine and a couple of other things.

Someone try this and let us know if it works (not that I'm advocating binge drinking -- but if you were going to do it anyway, take some taurine in the name of science).

Add some N-Acetylcysteine so the body can neutralize the toxic acetaldehyde more efficiently and the hangover is reduced/prevented. The most effective, scientific-proven method to avoid hangovers is not drinking too much alcohol by the way.

If you were hitting the bottle pretty hard and destroyed your liver, take S-Adenoslmethionine and you'll gonna live (longer):

S-adenosylmethionine in alcoholic liver cirrhosis: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, multicenter clinical trial.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The efficacy of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet) in the treatment of liver cell injury has been demonstrated in several experimental models. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of AdoMet treatment in human alcoholic liver cirrhosis. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind trial was performed in 123 patients treated with AdoMet (1200 mg/day, orally) or placebo for 2 years. All patients had alcoholic cirrhosis, and histologic confirmation of the diagnosis was available in 84% of the cases. Seventy-five patients were in Child class A, 40 in class B, and 8 in class C. Sixty-two patients received AdoMet and 61 received placebo. RESULTS: At inclusion into the trial no significant differences were observed between the two groups with respect to sex, age, previous episodes of major complications of cirrhosis, Child classification and liver function tests. The overall mortality/liver transplantation at the end of the trial decreased from 30% in the placebo group to 16% in the AdoMet group, although the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.077). When patients in Child C class were excluded from the analysis, the overall mortality/liver transplantation was significantly greater in the placebo group than in the AdoMet group (29% vs. 12%, p = 0.025), and differences between the two groups in the 2-year survival curves (defined as the time to death or liver transplantation) were also statistically significant (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that long-term treatment with AdoMet may improve survival or delay liver transplantation in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, especially in those with less advanced liver disease.

I've been using taurine ever day to test it's mood mellowing and sedative effects. I'm taking now about 1 tsp per day which I assume is about 4 or 5 gm. Now I see it has other good effects too. I may be using more than I need, I may cut back to 1/2 tsp a day like I was using. I get it by the kilo from BN so it's cheap as heck. No need to cap it up, it doesnt taste that bad. Just a little bit salty. Good find, Funk.

How is everyone taking their taurine? Little before meals, away from meals, with meals, before bed, etc.?

I take mine 1 before trainings, 1-2gr.

its safe to take 3 grams of an amino acid? isnt that huge?

"its safe to take 3 grams of an amino acid? isnt that huge? "

I don't see why not. They are a component of food. I took about 12 gm a day of inositol for a few weeks to see what it would do. There may be some amino acids that it would not be wise to take that much of but the common ones discussed here are not harmful.

I've been taking 1.35g 3x daily with meals. Its an amino acid, but we aren't trying to achieve a quick spike of it to get it past the blood/brain barrier (tyrosine, tryptophan), or produce a growth hormone surge (arginine, lysine). Unless I am missing part of the picture here, I don't think there is any reason to take it on an empty stomach. Slow absorption over a period of time might even be more desirable, depending on taurine's half-life.

I agree. I've been dosing it with meals, too.

If I knock back a load of arginine and lysine I will get a growth hormone surge? Thats pretty cool, what kinda dose would I need to achieve that to the betterment of my exercise recovery

Growth hormone is an interesting thing. Most of the evidence points to it not making a substantial difference in much of anything for young, healthy people at endogenous levels. I still take glutamine, arginine, lysine, ornithine, etc. at various times of day for S&G, though.

I would get my taurine from BN, but there are always the fears of impurity. Amino acids are good, but knocking back a load of lead probably isnt lol Im not saying BN are specifically dodgy, just that at that kind of price there have got to be some corners being cut?

LEF and Souce Naturals also make decently priced taurine powders. I'm sure BAC has one, too....if you would prefer those brands.

I really like 1Fast/BN and use a couple of their bulk powders daily. I thought they were posting COAs of pretty much everything these days?

For some odd reason, AOR Taurine from Relentless Improvement is dirt cheap. Its $7.46 for 270 capsules (675mg). Even papanature.com has nothing that can touch that value. At 4g of Taurine daily, costs me $5 a month. No need to buy bulk and cap yourself when its that cheap.

I always wondered about COAs though, sure they're proof that the batch which was tested is clean, but where's the proof that the COA is representitive of the entire output, it may just be one clean batch to get the clean cert?

Speaking of reducing exercise related oxidative damage, I read this longevity article and saw the following:

Many of the health benefits of exercise are thought to be due to the synthesis of damage-controlling molecules called heat-shock proteins, and Dr Rattan's group has been experimenting with other ways of triggering these proteins. He has found, for example, that taken in combination with exercise, a spice called curcumin boosts the production of heat-shock proteins several-fold.

Maybe something else to to take in addition to taurine.

Stephen

For some odd reason, AOR Taurine from Relentless Improvement is dirt cheap.  Its $7.46 for 270 capsules (675mg).  Even papanature.com has nothing that can touch that value.  At 4g of Taurine daily, costs me $5 a month.  No need to buy bulk and cap yourself when its that cheap.

It was on sale a while and i missed the sale. doh.

Ah well. I take 0.5g with food (lunch) btw.

In Sweden several people have died from drinking "energy drinks" containing taurine as the main ingredient, and they believe that taurin might have killed these young people. But there is now evidence, just that the have been drinking these taurin drinks.

Curcumin is taken by a good deal of athletes, but I think it has bioavailability issues. I believe taking it with Bioperine (Piperine) greatly enhances its bioavailability.

For the "growth hormone surge," I take 3g of L-Arginine Pyroglutamate (much more effective than standard Arginine or Arginine HCL) and 1.5g of L-Lysine on an empty stomach before bed, and when I wake up on an empty stomach and give it about 20-30 mins to get through my system. Just started this by the way, and dosages are based on recommendations I've read on various amino acid sites.

I take 2-4 grams in my coffee, it actually makes it taste better. I use magnesium taurinate sometimes also and it tastes even better. At 4 grams a day, it is supposed to lower risk of gallstones down to 0% ! the study is somewhere

"Taurine as the Nutritional Factor for the Longevity of the Japanese Revealed by a World-Wide Epidemiological Survey

The initial observation that taurine (T) prevented stroke in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) led us to study the effects of T on cardiovascular diseases (CVD), as well as the epidemiological association of T and mortality rates, by using the data from WHO-coordinated Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison Study, which covered 61 populations in 25 countries. In this study, 24 hour urine (24-U) samples were examined along with biomarkers of CVD risk. The mortality rate from ischemic heart disease (IHD), which was lowest among the Japanese compared to the populations of other developed countries, was positively related to total serum cholesterol (TC) and inversely related to 24-U taurine excretion (24-UT), as well as the n-3 fatty acid to total phospholipids ratio of the plasma membrane, both biomarkers of seafood intake. Analysis of 5 diet-related factors revealed that TC and BMI were positively associated with IHD mortality in both genders while Mg and T were negatively associated with IHD mortality. TC and sodium (Na) were negatively and positively associated with stroke mortality, respectively. 24-UT was negatively associated with stroke mortality. These five diet-related factors explained 61 and 49% of IHD and stroke variances in male, 63 and 36% of IHD and stroke variances in female, respectively."
http://www.springerl...46k336m205t3h2/

"Correlations Between Dietary Taurine Intake and Life Stress in Korean College Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between dietary taurine intake and life stress in Korean college students. The subjects were 320 college students (164 male and 156 female). A three day-recall method was used to assess dietary status (2 weekdays and 1 weekend). Life stress scores were determined using a self-administered life stress questionnaire. The higher stress scores indicate a high frequency and importance of the stress. Average dietary intake of taurine in male and female subjects was 124.1 ± 78.8 mg/day and 96.9 ± 71.7 mg/day, respectively. There were significant negative correlations between taurine intake and the frequency (p<0.01), importance (p<0.05) and total scores (p<0.05) of life stress in female subjects while there were no significant correlations between taurine intake and the frequency, importance and total scores of life stress in male subjects. In female subjects a correlation existed between taurine intake and professor problems, friend problems and future problems (p<0.05). These results suggest that dietary taurine intake may play an important role in reducing life stress."
http://www.springerl...6x706n15813531/

"Taurine (2-aminoethanesulphonic acid), a sulphur-containing amino acid, is found in most mammalian tissues. Although it can be synthesized endogenously, the major source of taurine is from the diet. Taurine was found to exhibit diverse biological actions, including protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury, modulation of intracellular calcium concentration, and antioxidant, antiatherogenic and blood pressure-lowering effects. The present review will address the potential beneficial actions of taurine in congestive heart failure, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, atherosclerosis and diabetic cardiomyopathy. There is a wealth of experimental information and some clinical evidence available in the literature suggesting that taurine could be of benefit in cardiovascular disease of different etiologies. However, double-blind long-term clinical trials need to be conducted before taurine can be unequivocally recommended as a nutritional intervention for the prevention and/or treatment of cardiovascular disease."

"Taurine is the most abundant intracellular sulphur-containing amino acid (1). Although it can be synthesized from methionine and cysteine in the presence of vitamin B₆ (1,2), taurine can be obtained from the diet, predominantly through eggs, meat and seafood. High concentrations of taurine are found in the heart and retina, whereas smaller amounts are found in the brain, kidneys, intestine and skeletal muscle (2). It is now well established that taurine is involved in many diverse biological and physiological functions (1,3). For example, it is known to play a role in bile salt formation and fat digestion. Furthermore, taurine is involved in the maintenance of homeostasis of intracellular Na⁺ and intracellular Ca²⁺ concentrations ([Ca²⁺]_i), and in the balance of neurotransmitters (4–6). Taurine deficiency is associated with anxiety, epilepsy, hyperactivity and depression; taurine supplementation can relieve these symptoms (7). Recently, it was shown to be an effective agent in the treatment of alcoholism, fatigue and myotonia (8,9). Taurine has also been reported to protect visual function during diabetes (10) and improve immunocompetence (11). In addition, taurine and its analogues have been observed to exert antineurotoxic and anti-inflammatory effects, and inhibit tumour cell proliferation (10–14). Taurine has also been shown to protect various organs against damage induced by mental and oxidative stress (15–17). Liao et al (18) demonstrated that a taurine transporter is expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells and suggested that it may play an important role in vascular function (19,20). A number of clinical trials revealed beneficial actions of taurine during different pathophysiological conditions (Table 1); however, the mechanisms of these actions are not yet understood."
http://www.pubmedcen...i?artid=2586397
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Since beta-alanine removes taurine from the body but also boosts exercise performance, I wonder how to sequence them before a workout? Maybe beta-alanine 1.5 hours before with food and then taurine 30 minutes before exercise? Or would beta-alanine store in the body, so just taking it maybe 5 hours before exercise would still work?

The supposed antihangover effects may contribute to the popularity of Red Bull as a mixing agent with drinks. I don't party myself all that much but I live in a college town...

"Background: Health aspects of seafood have primarily been linked to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Although animal studies have suggested beneficial contributions from taurine, highly abundant in seafood, its effect in humans is obscure. This study evaluates the combined effects of n-3 PUFA and taurine.

Methods: Healthy volunteers (n=80) were recruited to a 7-week double-blind and parallel intervention trial. One group (n=39) received fish pâté (36g/day) enriched in n-3 (1.1gEPA+DHA/day) and the second (n=41) an identical pâté enriched both in n-3 and taurine (425mg/day).

Results: Total cholesterol (TC) (−5%, P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol (−8%, P<0.001) and Apo B (−4%, P<0.001) decreased more in the n-3+taurine compared to the n-3 group. A significant within-group enhancement of high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol was demonstrated in the n-3+taurine group (6%, P<0.0001). Reductions in triacylglycerol (TG) (−16%, P<0.05 in n-3; −14%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine), thromboxane B2 (TxB2) (−21%, P<0.001 in n-3; −15%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine), tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) (−24%, P<0.001 in n-3; −12%, P<0.05 in n-3+taurine) and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1) (−12%, P<0.05 in n-3; −6%, P<0.0001 in n-3+taurine) were evident in both groups. Reductions in interleukin (IL)-6 (−16%, P<0.05) and LTB4 (−18%, P<0.05) were only significant in the n-3 group.

Conclusions: The effects, particularly on blood lipids, of combining n-3 PUFA's and taurine proved superior to those of n-3 alone."

http://www.sciencedi...592bd20c1bbc231

I read the taurine is benefical at increasing long term potenation. I was wondering if 500mg OD is sufficient to increase LTP?

Objective: The present study was aimed to examine the relation of dietary patterns and oxidative DNA damage to blood pressure (BP) among five Chinese national ethnic populations. Methods: A random sample of 1901 middle-aged Chinese men and women was collected from five ethnic groups in 11 cooperative study centers in China. Results: (1) Significant differences in mean BP, prevalence of hypertension and various dietary markers were observed among the five populations. (2) Na, Na/K ratio and body mass index (BMI) were positively correlated with BP, and magnesium (Mg), 3-methyhistidine (3MH) and taurine were inversely correlated with BP. (3). Factor analyses using eight variables (BMI, Na, K, Na/K ratio, calcium, Mg, 3MH and taurine) yielded three factors that explained 68% of total variance of BP among the five ethnic samples. Conclusion: Geoethnic sensitive and cross-cultural differences should partly explain the diet–BP association.

http://www.sciencedi...7c3911699bc4bfc

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Vegetarians and taurine

Increased endogenous generation of advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) contributes importantly to the vascular complications of diabetes, in part owing to activation of the pro-inflammatory RAGE receptor. However, AGE-altered oligopeptides with RAGE-activating potential can also be absorbed from the diet, and indeed make a significant contribution to the plasma and tissue pool of AGEs; this contribution is especially prominent when compromised renal function impairs renal clearance of AGEs. Perhaps surprisingly, foods rich in both protein and fat, and cooked at high heat, tend to be the richest dietary sources of AGEs, whereas low-fat carbohydrate-rich foods tend to be relatively low in AGEs. Conceivably, this reflects the fact that the so-called "AGEs" in the diet are generated primarily, not by glycation reactions, but by interactions between oxidized lipids and protein; such reactions are known to give rise to certain prominent AGEs, such as εN-carboxymethyl-lysine and methylglyoxal. Although roasted nuts and fried or broiled tofu are relatively high in AGEs, low-fat plant-derived foods, including boiled or baked beans, typically are low in AGEs. Thus, a low-AGE content may contribute to the many benefits conferred to diabetics by a genuinely low-fat vegan diet. Nonetheless, the plasma AGE content of healthy vegetarians has been reported to be higher than that of omnivores – suggesting that something about vegetarian diets may promote endogenous AGE production. Some researchers have proposed that the relatively high-fructose content of vegetarian diets may explain this phenomenon, but there so far is no clinical evidence that normal intakes of fructose have an important impact on AGE production. An alternative or additional possibility is that the relatively poor taurine status of vegetarians up-regulates the physiological role of myeloperoxidase-derived oxidants in the generation of AGEs – in which case, taurine supplementation might be expected to suppress elevated AGE production in vegetarians. Thus, a taurine supplemented low-fat vegan diet may be recommended as a strategy for minimizing AGE-mediated complications in diabetics and in patients with renal failure.
http://www.sciencedi...dc479df7cddf0d7.

Although vegan diets typically have a very favorable effect on a range of vascular risk factors, several independent groups have reported that the platelets of vegetarians are more sensitive to pro-aggregatory agonists than are those of omnivores. In light of clear and convincing evidence that platelet function has an important impact on risk for thromboembolic events, it is important to clarify the basis of platelet hyperaggregability in vegetarians. A dietary deficit of long-chain ω-3 fatty acids is not likely to explain this phenomenon, since most omnivore diets do not include enough of these fats to discernibly influence platelet function. A more plausible possibility is that relatively poor taurine status – a function of the facts that plants are devoid of taurine and the human capacity for taurine synthesis is limited – is responsible. Plasma taurine levels are lower, and urinary taurine excretion is substantially lower, in vegetarians than in omnivores. Platelets are rich in taurine, which functions physiologically to dampen the calcium influx evoked by aggregating agonists – thereby down-regulating platelet aggregation. Supplemental intakes of taurine as low as 400 mg daily have been reported to markedly decrease the sensitivity of platelets to aggregating agonists ex vivo. Although the average daily intake of taurine from omnivore diets may be only about 150 mg, it is credible to speculate that a supplemental intake of this magnitude could normalize the platelet function of vegetarians in the long term; in any case, this thesis is readily testable clinically. Taurine is just one of a number of nutrients found almost solely in animal products – "carninutrients" – which are rational candidates for supplementation in vegans.
http://www.sciencedi...61bdb63bdbc5fde

Neutrophils are activated in the coronary circulation during acute coronary events (unstable angina and myocardial infarction), often prior to the onset of ischemic damage. Moreover, neutrophils infiltrate coronary plaque in these circumstances, and may contribute to the rupture or erosion of this plaque, triggering thrombosis. Activated neutrophils secrete proteolytic enzymes in latent forms which are activated by the hypochlorous acid (HOCl) generated by myeloperoxidase. These phenomena may help to explain why an elevated white cell count has been found to be an independent coronary risk factor. Low-fat vegan diets can decrease circulating leukocytes – neutrophils and monocytes – possibly owing to down-regulation of systemic IGF-I activity. Thus, a relative neutropenia may contribute to the coronary protection afforded by such diets. However, vegetarian diets are devoid of taurine – the physiological antagonist of HOCl – and tissue levels of this nutrient are relatively low in vegetarians. Taurine has anti-atherosclerotic activity in animal models, possibly reflecting a role for macrophage-derived myeloperoxidase in the atherogenic process. Taurine also has platelet-stabilizing and anti-hypertensive effects that presumably could reduce coronary risk. Thus, it is proposed that a taurine-supplemented low-fat vegan diet represents a rational strategy for diminishing the contribution of activated neutrophils to acute coronary events; moreover, such a regimen would work in a number of other complementary ways to promote cardiovascular health. Moderate alcohol consumption, the well-tolerated drug pentoxifylline, and 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors – zileuton, boswellic acids, fish oil -may also have potential in this regard.
http://www.sciencedi...935561f483cc863