A Brief Insight about Taurine and Its antioxidant Effects

Abstract

Taurine or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic compound that is widespread in animal tissues. It is a main component of bile and is located in the large intestine, and contributes to 0.1% of the human body weight. The name comes from the Latin word Taurus which means ox, since it was first found in ox bile in 1827 by German scientists Leopold Gmelin and Friedrich Tiedemann. In 1846 it was uncovered in human bile by Edmund Ronalds. Taurine shows neuroprotective activity against hypoxia-induced injury in rats by moderating apoptotic damage. Treatment with taurine (30 mg/kg, i.p., 18 days) rose Bcl-2 expression but decreased Bax and caspase-3 expression. Taurine showed a protective function against anxiety, epilepsy, depression, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases and diabetic neuropathy. It also prevented trauma- and chemical-mediated neuronal injuries. It has displayed ameliorating functions in several models of neurodevelopmental disorders, including Angelman syndrome and Fragile X syndrome, sleep-wake disorders, neural tube defects and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Besides preclinical studies, taurine demonstrated a major therapeutic job against neuroinflammation, SSADH and stroke at the clinical level. Reduced cognitive deficiencies were noticed in Wistar rats given streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) to emulate Alzheimer’s disease, this was demonstrated on Morris water maze and in a passive avoidance test when medicated with 60 or 120mg/kg/day taurine.