Taurine

About Taurine

A sulfur-containing amino acid that is not incorporated into protein, concentrated in heart, retina, brain and skeletal muscle. It is abundant in shellfish and dark meat and is synthesised in the body from cysteine.

Taurine is unusual in being both a well-studied physiological compound and a supplement with a weak evidence base, largely because its everyday association is with energy drinks — where any effect is dominated by the caffeine and sugar sitting alongside it. Meta-analyses of taurine and exercise performance report small improvements in endurance at 1–6 g, with high heterogeneity. Its clearest genuine role is clinical: taurine deficiency causes cardiomyopathy and retinal degeneration in cats, and it is an essential nutrient in human infants receiving parenteral nutrition.

Sold as

Powder, Capsule, Energy drink ingredient

Standardised to

Grams of free taurine — a product without this marker may not resemble what was studied.

Also known as

Taurine, 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid

Regulation: Sold as a dietary supplement and used as a food ingredient in energy drinks. EFSA has assessed taurine in energy drinks and found no safety concern at the levels used. Not prohibited in sport.

What the research used

The amounts, forms and durations published trials of Taurine actually administered.

When it was taken

Each window says whether a trial compared it against an alternative, or whether it is convention and pharmacology. Most timing advice is the second kind.

In the food catalogue

The whole-food form, where one exists. The evidence for a concentrated extract rarely transfers to the food, or the other way round — these are cross-links, not equivalents.