Stapleton P P, Charles R P, Redmond H P, Bouchier-Hayes D J
Department of Clinical Nutrition, Meath Hospital, Heytesbury Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Clin Nutr. 1997 Jun;16(3):103-8. doi: 10.1016/s0261-5614(97)80234-8.
Taurine (2-aminoethane sulphonic acid), a ubiquitous beta-amino acid not incorporated into proteins but found either free or in some simple peptides is considered as a conditionally semi-essential amino acid in man. Once thought of as no more than an innocuous end product of cysteine metabolism, taurine has in recent years generated much interest due to research findings indicating a role in numerous physiological processes. These roles are varied and include membrane stabilization, detoxification, antioxidation, osmoregulation, maintenance of calcium homeostasis, and stimulation of glycolysis and glycogenesis. Intracellular and plasma taurine levels are high and although cellular taurine is tightly regulated, plasma levels are known to decrease in response to surgical injury and numerous pathological conditions including cancer, trauma and sepsis. Decreased plasma concentrations can be restored with supplementary taurine. Although the importance of taurine as a physiological agent with pharmacological properties is now recognised, the potential advantages of dietary supplementation with taurine have not as yet been fully exploited and this is an area which could prove to be of benefit to the patient.
牛磺酸（2-氨基乙磺酸）是一种广泛存在的β-氨基酸，它不参与蛋白质合成，而是以游离形式或存在于某些简单肽中，被认为是人体中的一种条件性半必需氨基酸。牛磺酸曾一度被认为仅仅是半胱氨酸代谢的无害终产物，然而近年来，由于研究结果表明它在众多生理过程中发挥作用，因而引发了广泛关注。这些作用多种多样，包括膜稳定、解毒、抗氧化、渗透调节、维持钙稳态以及刺激糖酵解和糖原生成。细胞内和血浆中的牛磺酸水平较高，尽管细胞内牛磺酸受到严格调控，但已知血浆水平会因手术损伤以及包括癌症、创伤和脓毒症在内的多种病理状况而降低。补充牛磺酸可使降低的血浆浓度恢复正常。尽管牛磺酸作为一种具有药理特性的生理因子的重要性现已得到认可，但牛磺酸膳食补充的潜在益处尚未得到充分发掘，而这一领域可能会证明对患者有益。
