Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process - each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. This news release describes a basic research finding. Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D., chief of NIAID’s Metaorganism Immunity Section in the Laboratory of Immune System Biology, is available to comment. Infection trains the host for microbiota-enhanced resistance to pathogens. Scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases led the project in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences the National Cancer Institute the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Human Genome Research Institute. However, when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate - a common over-the-counter drug used to treat diarrhea and upset stomach - infection protection waned because bismuth inhibits hydrogen sulfide production. The study found that taurine given to mice as a supplement in drinking water also prepared the microbiota to prevent infection. During the study, the researchers realized that a single mild infection is sufficient to prepare the microbiota to resist subsequent infection, and that the liver and gallbladder - which synthesize and store bile acids containing taurine - can develop long-term infection protection. The scientists believe that low levels of taurine allow pathogens to colonize the gut, but high levels produce enough hydrogen sulfide to prevent colonization. The poisonous gas hydrogen sulfide is a byproduct of taurine. Taurine helps the body digest fats and oils and is found naturally in bile acids in the gut. They identified a class of bacteria - Deltaproteobacteria - involved in fighting these infections, and further analysis led them to identify taurine as the trigger for Deltaproteobacteria activity. The scientists observed that microbiota that had experienced prior infection and transferred to germ-free mice helped prevent infection with Kpn. Scientists are studying the microbiota with an eye to finding or enhancing natural treatments to replace antibiotics, which harm microbiota and become less effective as bacteria develop drug resistance. Scientists know that microbiota - the trillions of beneficial microbes living harmoniously inside our gut - can protect people from bacterial infections, but little is known about how they provide protection. The finding, published in the journal Cell by scientists from five institutes of the National Institutes of Health, could aid efforts seeking alternatives to antibiotics. Scientists studying the body’s natural defenses against bacterial infection have identified a nutrient - taurine - that helps the gut recall prior infections and kill invading bacteria, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae ( Kpn). Very high intakes may have behavioural effects.Colorized scanning electron micrograph showing carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae interacting with a human neutrophil.

For example, it is thought that high taurine intakes may have an influence on the triggering and maintenance of psoriasis. The kidneys should remove excess taurine, within reason, but high taurine intakes are thought to have detrimental effects. It is recommended not to exceed two capsules per day. There are no formal upper limits for daily taurine consumption, but this is because of a lack of qualitative toxicology research. While taurine is found in the brain, research suggest that it is regulated such that oral intake of taurine does not affect brain taurine levels.Įach capsule contains 480mg of taurine. Oral taurine is thought to be functionally available after about 90 minutes, and to remain so for about three hours.

It is effectively absent from vegetable sources. In the diet, taurine is found almost wholly in protein rich sources such as meat and fish. It also has poorly understood roles in a number of other functions, such as neural activity, controlling calcium levels and the maintenance of membranes. Taurine takes part in the formation of bile salts and can help with the body's reaction to unexpected substances, or abnormal levels of other substances. The process of synthesis has some rate limiting factors. Cysteine is a particularly significant ingredient of taurine synthesis. Taurine is an amino acid that the body synthesises from sulphur-containing amino acids.

Taurine dosage for people