Effects of taurine on tolerance to and dependence on morphine in mice.

The effects of taurine on the analgesic response to morphine, on the intensity of tolerance and on physical dependence were examined. Taurine induced a hyperalgesic state and attenuated morphine analgesia in mice. The hyperalgesia was maximal at a dose level of 1.5 mg/kg i.p., while the effects of higher doses (6.0 and 10.0 mg/kg) were masked by a depression of the animals' gross behavior. Taurine induced a dose related antagonism of morphine tolerance. The amino acid administered 30 min before naloxone, produced a partial reduction in the abstinence signs in the chronically treated mice. Taurine also attenuated the abstinence behavior when administered during the course of dependence. The results are consistent with taurine antagonism to the known effects of morphine on intracellular calcium disposition in nervous tissue.