Taurine

updated

Taurine is an endogenous amino sulfonic acid sold to slow aging and extend healthy lifespan, on the premise from a 2023 Science paper that it falls with age. That paper extended median lifespan by 10 to 12% in mice and reported health span gains in monkeys, but three 2025 studies found circulating taurine did not fall with age, and no human aging-outcome trial has reported. In randomized trials in metabolic-risk groups, taurine modestly lowered blood pressure, fasting glucose and triglycerides.

Endogenous amino sulfonic acid

  • Taurine is PubChem CID 1123, C2H7NO3S, 125.15 g/mol, CAS 107-35-7; in FDA records it appears only as one ingredient in four intravenous amino acid nutrition products.
  • In C57BL/6J mice given oral taurine daily from 14 months of age, median lifespan rose 10 to 12%; lifespan extension was not shown in monkeys or people.
  • A 2025 Science paper found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice.
  • A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants) found systolic blood pressure 3.999 mmHg lower and triglycerides 18.315 mg/dL lower on taurine.
  • In elderly hip fracture patients, peri-operative taurine did not improve morbidity or one-year mortality.
  • TauAge (NCT06613542), a 90-person placebo-controlled biological-age trial, was listed completed with no posted results on 11 October 2026.

What is taurine, and what is its US status?

Taurine is an endogenous amino sulfonic acid, the same single molecule in every study on this page. In FDA records it appears only as one ingredient in four intravenous amino acid nutrition products, which are not a taurine drug and are not approved for aging or longevity.

Taurine is PubChem CID 1123, C2H7NO3S, molecular weight 125.15 g/mol, CAS 107-35-7, IUPAC name 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. It is an endogenous amino sulfonic acid, described in a 2026 trial protocol as a conditionally essential amino acid.

On 11 October 2026 an openFDA Drugs@FDA query for taurine returned four applications, all parenteral amino acid nutrition products that contain taurine as one ingredient: TROPHAMINE (NDA019018, original approval 20 July 1984), AMINOSYN-PF 7% (NDA019398, 6 September 1985), AMINOSYN-PF 10% (NDA019492, 17 October 1986) and PREMASOL (ANDA075880, 19 June 2003). These are intravenous nutrition solutions, not a taurine drug, and none is approved for aging or longevity. The FDA dietary-supplement or GRAS status of oral taurine is not established here.

PubChem: taurine identity; FDA records list it only inside intravenous nutrition products

Chemical identity record

National Library of Medicine. PubChem compound record CID 1123 (taurine). openFDA Drugs@FDA query for taurine run on 11 October 2026.

Taurine: PubChem CID 1123, C2H7NO3S, 125.15 g/mol, CAS 107-35-7, IUPAC name 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. It is an endogenous amino sulfonic acid, described in a 2026 trial protocol as a conditionally essential amino acid, and the same single molecule is used in every study on this page. On 11 October 2026 an openFDA Drugs@FDA query for taurine returned four applications, all parenteral amino acid nutrition products that contain taurine as one ingredient: TROPHAMINE (NDA019018, original approval 20 July 1984), AMINOSYN-PF 7% (NDA019398, 6 September 1985), AMINOSYN-PF 10% (NDA019492, 17 October 1986) and PREMASOL (ANDA075880, 19 June 2003). These are intravenous nutrition solutions, not a taurine drug, and not approved for aging or longevity.

Participants / model
Chemical identity, not a clinical population
Treatment
Defined molecule
Follow-up
Searches run on 11 October 2026
Study design
NLM chemical record plus dated US approval-record search
Funding
not stated in the source

DailyMed also lists several taurine-labeled liquid products, which are not described here. FDA dietary-supplement or GRAS status of oral taurine is not established here.

Read the original source

Where does the claim that taurine slows aging come from?

From a 2023 Science paper. Oral taurine given daily to mice from 14 months of age raised median lifespan by 10 to 12%, the authors report health span gains in aged rhesus monkeys, and in a human cohort lower taurine was associated with several age-related diseases. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or people.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted.

The full text gives the design. C57BL/6J mice of both sexes received oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily from 14 months of age until the end of life. Median lifespan rose 10 to 12%, and life expectancy at 28 months rose 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males). Aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) received 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects.

Funding listed NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. The competing-interests statement says Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor. The mouse dose was the paper's own choice, and its translation to a human amount is not evaluated here.

Origin of the claim, 2023: mouse median lifespan up 10 to 12%; health span in monkeys

Animal study

Singh P et al. Science. 2023;380(6649):eabn9257. PMID 37289866.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted. The full text gives the design: oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily to 14-month-old C57BL/6J mice of both sexes until the end of life, with a median lifespan increase of 10 to 12% and a rise in life expectancy at 28 months of 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males), and aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) given 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or humans.

Participants / model
C57BL/6J mice, C. elegans, aged rhesus monkeys, and human cohort data (11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects)
Treatment
Oral taurine by daily gavage in mice and monkeys; supplementation in worms
Follow-up
From 14 months of age to the end of life in mice; 6 months in monkeys
Study design
Animal study with a human association analysis
Funding
NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor

Read from the abstract and selected full-text passages. Human data in this paper are associations, not supplementation results.

Read the original source

Does circulating taurine really fall with age?

That is contested. A 2025 Science paper found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three human cohorts, nonhuman primates and mice, and two other 2025 studies, in 137 men and in mice, found no age decline. Cohorts and assays differ, so the question is not settled, but the premise is not consensus.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes.

In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function; that study declared no conflicts. In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

A decline in the 2023 study and no decline in these three do not settle the matter, because cohorts, assays and populations differ. The supplier premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Premise challenged, 2025: taurine rose or held steady with age in three studies

Human study

Fernandez ME et al. Science. 2025;388(6751):eadl2116. PMID 40472098.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes. In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function (no conflicts declared). In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

Participants / model
Humans in three cohorts; 137 men aged 20 to 93; nonhuman primates; C57BL/6J mice
Treatment
Measurement of circulating taurine; no intervention
Follow-up
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurement
Study design
Observational and animal studies
Funding
Not stated in the Fernandez 2025 abstract; the Marcangeli 2025 study declared no conflicts

Cohorts, assays and populations differ from the 2023 paper, so these results do not settle the question, but the premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Read the original source

What have supplementation trials and cohort studies in people found?

Modest metabolic effects, not aging outcomes. Across 25 randomized trials in metabolic-risk groups, taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg, fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL. In elderly hip fracture patients it did not improve morbidity or one-year mortality, and in a 25-year cohort of 27,786 Swedes taurine was not associated with dementia.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup. Both reviews cover at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

In a double-blind placebo-controlled trial in elderly hip fracture patients, taurine started after admission and continued to the sixth postoperative day did not improve in-hospital morbidity, comorbidities in the first year or mortality in the first year. It lowered a urinary oxidative DNA damage marker (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; regression coefficient -0.54, 95% CI -1.08 to -0.01, p = 0.04) and blunted the plasma malondialdehyde response (p = 0.05). The abstract does not give the dose or sample size.

In 27,786 participants of the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study followed for a median 25 years (3,224 developed dementia), neither dietary taurine intake nor plasma taurine (measured in 3,693 people) was associated with all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, and plasma taurine correlated only weakly with intake. In Japanese adults aged 40 or older followed for 8 years, estimated dietary taurine averaging 207.5 mg/day was associated with a smaller decline in knee extension strength in people aged 65 or older and with no change in the other three fitness tests; three authors were employed by Taisho Pharmaceutical. These are dietary associations, not supplementation trials.

Metabolic trials: 25 trials, 1,024 people; blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides lower

Systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzang CC et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14(1):29. PMID 38755142.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol and no significant adverse effects against control. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup.

Participants / model
Adults in 25 randomized trials of metabolic risk; 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity
Treatment
Oral taurine, 0.5 to 6 g/day
Follow-up
5 to 365 days
Study design
Meta-analyses of randomized trials
Funding
not stated in the source

Both populations are at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

Read the original source
Hip fracture trial: no effect on morbidity or one-year mortality

Randomized controlled trial

Van Stijn MF et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2015;16(6):12288-306. PMID 26035756.

Taurine started after admission and continued to the sixth postoperative day did not improve in-hospital morbidity, comorbidities in the first year or mortality in the first year. It lowered a urinary oxidative DNA damage marker (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; regression coefficient -0.54, 95% CI -1.08 to -0.01, p = 0.04) and blunted the plasma malondialdehyde response (p = 0.05).

Participants / model
Elderly patients with hip fracture
Treatment
Oral taurine or placebo, peri-operative course to postoperative day 6
Follow-up
Treatment to postoperative day 6; follow-up to one year
Study design
Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial
Funding
not stated in the source

The abstract does not give the dose or sample size, so neither is stated here.

Read the original source
Cohorts: no dementia link in 27,786 Swedes; small knee-strength link in Japanese adults

Human study

Zhang N et al. J Neurochem. 2025;169(11):e70298. PMID 41250277.

In 27,786 participants of the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study followed for a median 25 years (3,224 developed dementia), neither dietary taurine intake nor plasma taurine (measured in 3,693 people) was associated with all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, and plasma taurine correlated only weakly with intake. In Japanese adults aged 40 or older followed for 8 years, estimated dietary taurine intake averaging 207.5 mg/day was associated with a smaller decline in knee extension strength in people aged 65 or older and with no change in the other three fitness tests.

Participants / model
27,786 Swedish adults in a prospective cohort; Japanese community-dwelling adults aged 40 or older
Treatment
Dietary intake and plasma level; no supplementation
Follow-up
Median 25 years (Sweden); 8 years (Japan)
Study design
Prospective cohort studies
Funding
Three authors of the Japanese study were employed by Taisho Pharmaceutical; not stated in the source for the Swedish study

Observational dietary associations, not supplementation trials.

Read the original source

Are trials of taurine for aging under way, and have they reported?

Yes, and none has reported. TauAge randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to taurine or placebo for 6 months with biological-age outcomes and is listed completed with no posted results as of 11 October 2026. A Hong Kong phase II protocol was published in 2026 with no results.

NCT06613542 (TauAge, Technical University of Munich) randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to 4 g/day taurine or placebo for 6 months with quadruple masking. Its primary outcomes are change in biological age by plasma proteome and by DNA methylation clocks. The registry lists it completed with primary completion 13 November 2025 and no posted results, and no paper reporting it was found in PubMed.

A Hong Kong phase II protocol (3 g/day versus placebo for 6 months in healthcare workers, 80 planned, primary outcome HbA1c, PhenoAge secondary; ChiCTR2500102879) was published in 2026 with no results. A ClinicalTrials.gov search for taurine aging also returned NCT07711899 (36 older women with obesity, not yet recruiting) and NCT06635369 (taurine in periodontitis and aging, completed, 66 enrolled, no results).

Registered trials without results show that a study was registered, not that it works.

Registered aging trials: TauAge (90 adults) completed, no posted results

Trial registry record

ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06613542 (TauAge, Technical University of Munich), read 11 October 2026. Hong Kong phase II protocol PMID 42201902 (ChiCTR2500102879). ClinicalTrials.gov records NCT07711899 and NCT06635369.

TauAge randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to 4 g/day taurine or placebo for 6 months with quadruple masking; its primary outcomes are change in biological age by plasma proteome and by DNA methylation clocks. The registry lists it completed with primary completion 13 November 2025 and no posted results, and no paper reporting it was found in PubMed. A Hong Kong phase II protocol (3 g/day versus placebo for 6 months in healthcare workers, 80 planned, primary outcome HbA1c, PhenoAge secondary) was published in 2026 with no results. A ClinicalTrials.gov search for taurine aging also returned NCT07711899 (36 older women with obesity, not yet recruiting) and NCT06635369 (taurine in periodontitis and aging, completed, 66 enrolled, no results).

Participants / model
90 adults aged 55 to 75 (TauAge); 80 planned healthcare workers (Hong Kong)
Treatment
Oral taurine, 4 g/day for 6 months (TauAge); 3 g/day for 6 months (Hong Kong); placebo
Follow-up
6 months
Study design
Trial registry records and a published protocol
Funding
not stated in the source

Registered trials without results show that a study was registered, not that it works.

Read the original source

Does taurine extend healthy lifespan in people?

Not shown. Lifespan extension was shown in mice and worms and health span signals in monkeys, the declining-taurine premise is contested, and the human aging trials are registered but unreported. A PubMed search on 11 October 2026 found no trial testing taurine for aging or lifespan outcomes in healthy people.

Sellers say taurine supplementation slows aging and extends healthy lifespan because taurine falls with age, citing the 2023 Science paper. That paper extended median lifespan by 10 to 12% in mice and reported health span gains in monkeys, and three 2025 studies found circulating taurine did not fall with age in humans, nonhuman primates or mice.

A PubMed search on 11 October 2026 for taurine supplementation randomized trials in older adults, elderly or middle-aged people returned 5 records, and all 5 titles were reviewed. One was a taurine-only trial, the hip fracture trial, which found no clinical benefit. The others were multi-ingredient or diet trials: whey protein in mild cognitive impairment, a multi-nutrient supplement in active middle-aged and older adults, a sardine-enriched diet in prediabetes, and a multi-ingredient sarcopenia supplement. None tested taurine for aging or lifespan outcomes in healthy people.

No human lifespan or aging-outcome trial of taurine has reported, and the 2023 animal lifespan result has not been replicated in the records found.

PubMed search, 11 October 2026: 5 records, no taurine aging-outcome trial in healthy people

PubMed search record

PubMed search run on 11 October 2026: taurine[tiab] AND supplementation[tiab] AND (older adults[tiab] OR elderly[tiab] OR middle-aged[tiab]) AND (randomized[tiab] OR randomised[tiab]). 5 records returned.

The search returned 5 records, and all 5 titles were reviewed. One was a taurine-only trial, the hip fracture trial; the others were multi-ingredient or diet trials (whey protein in mild cognitive impairment, a multi-nutrient supplement in active middle-aged and older adults, a sardine-enriched diet in prediabetes, and a multi-ingredient sarcopenia supplement). None tested taurine for aging or lifespan outcomes in healthy people. No human lifespan or aging-outcome trial of taurine was found, and the animal lifespan result of the 2023 paper has not been replicated in the records found.

Participants / model
Records reviewed, not a population
Treatment
Not applicable
Follow-up
Search run on 11 October 2026
Study design
Literature search
Funding
not stated in the source

A search result shows what PubMed returned on that date. It is not proof that no unindexed study exists.

Read the original source
Origin of the claim, 2023: mouse median lifespan up 10 to 12%; health span in monkeys

Animal study

Singh P et al. Science. 2023;380(6649):eabn9257. PMID 37289866.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted. The full text gives the design: oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily to 14-month-old C57BL/6J mice of both sexes until the end of life, with a median lifespan increase of 10 to 12% and a rise in life expectancy at 28 months of 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males), and aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) given 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or humans.

Participants / model
C57BL/6J mice, C. elegans, aged rhesus monkeys, and human cohort data (11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects)
Treatment
Oral taurine by daily gavage in mice and monkeys; supplementation in worms
Follow-up
From 14 months of age to the end of life in mice; 6 months in monkeys
Study design
Animal study with a human association analysis
Funding
NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor

Read from the abstract and selected full-text passages. Human data in this paper are associations, not supplementation results.

Read the original source
Premise challenged, 2025: taurine rose or held steady with age in three studies

Human study

Fernandez ME et al. Science. 2025;388(6751):eadl2116. PMID 40472098.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes. In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function (no conflicts declared). In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

Participants / model
Humans in three cohorts; 137 men aged 20 to 93; nonhuman primates; C57BL/6J mice
Treatment
Measurement of circulating taurine; no intervention
Follow-up
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurement
Study design
Observational and animal studies
Funding
Not stated in the Fernandez 2025 abstract; the Marcangeli 2025 study declared no conflicts

Cohorts, assays and populations differ from the 2023 paper, so these results do not settle the question, but the premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Read the original source
Registered aging trials: TauAge (90 adults) completed, no posted results

Trial registry record

ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06613542 (TauAge, Technical University of Munich), read 11 October 2026. Hong Kong phase II protocol PMID 42201902 (ChiCTR2500102879). ClinicalTrials.gov records NCT07711899 and NCT06635369.

TauAge randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to 4 g/day taurine or placebo for 6 months with quadruple masking; its primary outcomes are change in biological age by plasma proteome and by DNA methylation clocks. The registry lists it completed with primary completion 13 November 2025 and no posted results, and no paper reporting it was found in PubMed. A Hong Kong phase II protocol (3 g/day versus placebo for 6 months in healthcare workers, 80 planned, primary outcome HbA1c, PhenoAge secondary) was published in 2026 with no results. A ClinicalTrials.gov search for taurine aging also returned NCT07711899 (36 older women with obesity, not yet recruiting) and NCT06635369 (taurine in periodontitis and aging, completed, 66 enrolled, no results).

Participants / model
90 adults aged 55 to 75 (TauAge); 80 planned healthcare workers (Hong Kong)
Treatment
Oral taurine, 4 g/day for 6 months (TauAge); 3 g/day for 6 months (Hong Kong); placebo
Follow-up
6 months
Study design
Trial registry records and a published protocol
Funding
not stated in the source

Registered trials without results show that a study was registered, not that it works.

Read the original source

How is taurine supposed to slow aging?

The 2023 paper proposes that falling taurine contributes to aging and that restoring it improves health span; its endpoints included senescence markers. Three 2025 studies found no fall with age. In people, randomized trials show modest blood pressure, glucose, triglyceride and insulin effects in metabolic-risk groups rather than aging outcomes.

The proposed mechanism is replacement: circulating taurine declines with age, and restoring it raised health span and life span in mice, with endpoints that included senescence markers. In the human cohort data, lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise, which are associations rather than effects of supplementation.

The replacement idea depends on the decline, and the 2025 studies found circulating taurine increased or held steady with age. What randomized trials in people do show is modest: lower blood pressure, fasting glucose and triglycerides across 25 trials, and lower fasting insulin across 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity. No half-life or other pharmacokinetic measure appears in the sources on this page, and in the Swedish cohort plasma taurine correlated only weakly with dietary intake.

Origin of the claim, 2023: mouse median lifespan up 10 to 12%; health span in monkeys

Animal study

Singh P et al. Science. 2023;380(6649):eabn9257. PMID 37289866.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted. The full text gives the design: oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily to 14-month-old C57BL/6J mice of both sexes until the end of life, with a median lifespan increase of 10 to 12% and a rise in life expectancy at 28 months of 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males), and aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) given 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or humans.

Participants / model
C57BL/6J mice, C. elegans, aged rhesus monkeys, and human cohort data (11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects)
Treatment
Oral taurine by daily gavage in mice and monkeys; supplementation in worms
Follow-up
From 14 months of age to the end of life in mice; 6 months in monkeys
Study design
Animal study with a human association analysis
Funding
NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor

Read from the abstract and selected full-text passages. Human data in this paper are associations, not supplementation results.

Read the original source
Premise challenged, 2025: taurine rose or held steady with age in three studies

Human study

Fernandez ME et al. Science. 2025;388(6751):eadl2116. PMID 40472098.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes. In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function (no conflicts declared). In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

Participants / model
Humans in three cohorts; 137 men aged 20 to 93; nonhuman primates; C57BL/6J mice
Treatment
Measurement of circulating taurine; no intervention
Follow-up
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurement
Study design
Observational and animal studies
Funding
Not stated in the Fernandez 2025 abstract; the Marcangeli 2025 study declared no conflicts

Cohorts, assays and populations differ from the 2023 paper, so these results do not settle the question, but the premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Read the original source
Metabolic trials: 25 trials, 1,024 people; blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides lower

Systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzang CC et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14(1):29. PMID 38755142.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol and no significant adverse effects against control. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup.

Participants / model
Adults in 25 randomized trials of metabolic risk; 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity
Treatment
Oral taurine, 0.5 to 6 g/day
Follow-up
5 to 365 days
Study design
Meta-analyses of randomized trials
Funding
not stated in the source

Both populations are at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

Read the original source
Cohorts: no dementia link in 27,786 Swedes; small knee-strength link in Japanese adults

Human study

Zhang N et al. J Neurochem. 2025;169(11):e70298. PMID 41250277.

In 27,786 participants of the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study followed for a median 25 years (3,224 developed dementia), neither dietary taurine intake nor plasma taurine (measured in 3,693 people) was associated with all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, and plasma taurine correlated only weakly with intake. In Japanese adults aged 40 or older followed for 8 years, estimated dietary taurine intake averaging 207.5 mg/day was associated with a smaller decline in knee extension strength in people aged 65 or older and with no change in the other three fitness tests.

Participants / model
27,786 Swedish adults in a prospective cohort; Japanese community-dwelling adults aged 40 or older
Treatment
Dietary intake and plasma level; no supplementation
Follow-up
Median 25 years (Sweden); 8 years (Japan)
Study design
Prospective cohort studies
Funding
Three authors of the Japanese study were employed by Taisho Pharmaceutical; not stated in the source for the Swedish study

Observational dietary associations, not supplementation trials.

Read the original source

What does the safety record show?

The short-term safety record is reassuring but bounded. A 2008 risk assessment found no systematic pattern of adverse effects in human trials and set an observed safe level of 3 g/day for healthy adults, and a 6 g/day trial in cirrhosis found mild adverse effects comparable to placebo over 4 weeks. Long-term safety above 3 g/day is undocumented in the sources on this page.

A quantitative risk assessment found no systematic pattern of adverse effects in human trials of oral taurine, so no NOAEL or LOAEL could be set. It identified an observed safe level of 3 g/day of supplemental taurine for healthy adults and noted that data above that level were not enough to conclude long-term safety.

In 22 patients with cirrhosis and varices analyzed (12 taurine, 10 placebo), 6 g/day for 4 weeks produced mild gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue at rates comparable between groups, and hepatic venous pressure gradient fell 12% against a 2% rise on placebo. The 25-trial meta-analysis found no significant adverse effects against control in trials of 5 to 365 days.

These data come from short trials and a disease population, and the 2008 assessment predates the aging-focused trials registered since. Long-term (over 1 year) human safety of supplemental taurine above 3 g/day is undocumented in the sources on this page.

Safety: observed safe level of 3 g/day for healthy adults; 6 g/day for 4 weeks in cirrhosis

Narrative review

Shao A et al. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008;50(3):376-99. PMID 18325648.

A quantitative risk assessment found no systematic pattern of adverse effects in human trials of oral taurine, so no NOAEL or LOAEL could be set, and it identified an observed safe level of 3 g/day of supplemental taurine for healthy adults, noting that data above that level were not enough to conclude long-term safety. In 22 patients with cirrhosis and varices analyzed (12 taurine, 10 placebo), 6 g/day for 4 weeks produced mild gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue comparable between groups, and hepatic venous pressure gradient fell 12% against a 2% rise on placebo.

Participants / model
Healthy adults (risk assessment); 22 patients with cirrhosis
Treatment
Oral taurine, up to 3 g/day (observed safe level); 6 g/day for 4 weeks
Follow-up
Short trials; 4 weeks in the cirrhosis trial
Study design
Risk assessment of human trials; randomized trial
Funding
not stated in the source

Short trials and a disease population. The 2008 assessment predates the aging-focused trials registered since.

Read the original source
Metabolic trials: 25 trials, 1,024 people; blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides lower

Systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzang CC et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14(1):29. PMID 38755142.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol and no significant adverse effects against control. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup.

Participants / model
Adults in 25 randomized trials of metabolic risk; 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity
Treatment
Oral taurine, 0.5 to 6 g/day
Follow-up
5 to 365 days
Study design
Meta-analyses of randomized trials
Funding
not stated in the source

Both populations are at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

Read the original source

Why does taurine sit in C tier?

C fits an inexpensive endogenous compound with a decent short-term safety record and modest randomized-trial effects in metabolic-risk groups, whose longevity claim rests on one animal paper with a contested premise. B is arguable for the metabolic-syndrome use alone.

The safety record is decent for short use: an observed safe level of 3 g/day for healthy adults and mild adverse events in trials up to 6 g/day. Meta-analyses of randomized trials show lower blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides and insulin in metabolic-risk groups. The longevity claim rests on one animal paper (median mouse lifespan up 10 to 12%, health span gains in monkeys), the declining-taurine premise has been challenged by three 2025 studies in humans and mice, and no human aging-outcome trial has reported. That places taurine with other plausible supplements with thin human data.

"Taurine extends healthy lifespan in people" is not supported. Lifespan extension was shown in mice and worms and health span signals in monkeys, and the human aging trials are registered but unreported.

Safety: observed safe level of 3 g/day for healthy adults; 6 g/day for 4 weeks in cirrhosis

Narrative review

Shao A et al. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008;50(3):376-99. PMID 18325648.

A quantitative risk assessment found no systematic pattern of adverse effects in human trials of oral taurine, so no NOAEL or LOAEL could be set, and it identified an observed safe level of 3 g/day of supplemental taurine for healthy adults, noting that data above that level were not enough to conclude long-term safety. In 22 patients with cirrhosis and varices analyzed (12 taurine, 10 placebo), 6 g/day for 4 weeks produced mild gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue comparable between groups, and hepatic venous pressure gradient fell 12% against a 2% rise on placebo.

Participants / model
Healthy adults (risk assessment); 22 patients with cirrhosis
Treatment
Oral taurine, up to 3 g/day (observed safe level); 6 g/day for 4 weeks
Follow-up
Short trials; 4 weeks in the cirrhosis trial
Study design
Risk assessment of human trials; randomized trial
Funding
not stated in the source

Short trials and a disease population. The 2008 assessment predates the aging-focused trials registered since.

Read the original source
Metabolic trials: 25 trials, 1,024 people; blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides lower

Systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzang CC et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14(1):29. PMID 38755142.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol and no significant adverse effects against control. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup.

Participants / model
Adults in 25 randomized trials of metabolic risk; 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity
Treatment
Oral taurine, 0.5 to 6 g/day
Follow-up
5 to 365 days
Study design
Meta-analyses of randomized trials
Funding
not stated in the source

Both populations are at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

Read the original source
Origin of the claim, 2023: mouse median lifespan up 10 to 12%; health span in monkeys

Animal study

Singh P et al. Science. 2023;380(6649):eabn9257. PMID 37289866.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted. The full text gives the design: oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily to 14-month-old C57BL/6J mice of both sexes until the end of life, with a median lifespan increase of 10 to 12% and a rise in life expectancy at 28 months of 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males), and aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) given 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or humans.

Participants / model
C57BL/6J mice, C. elegans, aged rhesus monkeys, and human cohort data (11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects)
Treatment
Oral taurine by daily gavage in mice and monkeys; supplementation in worms
Follow-up
From 14 months of age to the end of life in mice; 6 months in monkeys
Study design
Animal study with a human association analysis
Funding
NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor

Read from the abstract and selected full-text passages. Human data in this paper are associations, not supplementation results.

Read the original source
Premise challenged, 2025: taurine rose or held steady with age in three studies

Human study

Fernandez ME et al. Science. 2025;388(6751):eadl2116. PMID 40472098.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes. In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function (no conflicts declared). In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

Participants / model
Humans in three cohorts; 137 men aged 20 to 93; nonhuman primates; C57BL/6J mice
Treatment
Measurement of circulating taurine; no intervention
Follow-up
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurement
Study design
Observational and animal studies
Funding
Not stated in the Fernandez 2025 abstract; the Marcangeli 2025 study declared no conflicts

Cohorts, assays and populations differ from the 2023 paper, so these results do not settle the question, but the premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Read the original source
Registered aging trials: TauAge (90 adults) completed, no posted results

Trial registry record

ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06613542 (TauAge, Technical University of Munich), read 11 October 2026. Hong Kong phase II protocol PMID 42201902 (ChiCTR2500102879). ClinicalTrials.gov records NCT07711899 and NCT06635369.

TauAge randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to 4 g/day taurine or placebo for 6 months with quadruple masking; its primary outcomes are change in biological age by plasma proteome and by DNA methylation clocks. The registry lists it completed with primary completion 13 November 2025 and no posted results, and no paper reporting it was found in PubMed. A Hong Kong phase II protocol (3 g/day versus placebo for 6 months in healthcare workers, 80 planned, primary outcome HbA1c, PhenoAge secondary) was published in 2026 with no results. A ClinicalTrials.gov search for taurine aging also returned NCT07711899 (36 older women with obesity, not yet recruiting) and NCT06635369 (taurine in periodontitis and aging, completed, 66 enrolled, no results).

Participants / model
90 adults aged 55 to 75 (TauAge); 80 planned healthcare workers (Hong Kong)
Treatment
Oral taurine, 4 g/day for 6 months (TauAge); 3 g/day for 6 months (Hong Kong); placebo
Follow-up
6 months
Study design
Trial registry records and a published protocol
Funding
not stated in the source

Registered trials without results show that a study was registered, not that it works.

Read the original source
PubMed search, 11 October 2026: 5 records, no taurine aging-outcome trial in healthy people

PubMed search record

PubMed search run on 11 October 2026: taurine[tiab] AND supplementation[tiab] AND (older adults[tiab] OR elderly[tiab] OR middle-aged[tiab]) AND (randomized[tiab] OR randomised[tiab]). 5 records returned.

The search returned 5 records, and all 5 titles were reviewed. One was a taurine-only trial, the hip fracture trial; the others were multi-ingredient or diet trials (whey protein in mild cognitive impairment, a multi-nutrient supplement in active middle-aged and older adults, a sardine-enriched diet in prediabetes, and a multi-ingredient sarcopenia supplement). None tested taurine for aging or lifespan outcomes in healthy people. No human lifespan or aging-outcome trial of taurine was found, and the animal lifespan result of the 2023 paper has not been replicated in the records found.

Participants / model
Records reviewed, not a population
Treatment
Not applicable
Follow-up
Search run on 11 October 2026
Study design
Literature search
Funding
not stated in the source

A search result shows what PubMed returned on that date. It is not proof that no unindexed study exists.

Read the original source

Studies and sources

PubChem: taurine identity; FDA records list it only inside intravenous nutrition products

Chemical identity record

National Library of Medicine. PubChem compound record CID 1123 (taurine). openFDA Drugs@FDA query for taurine run on 11 October 2026.

Taurine: PubChem CID 1123, C2H7NO3S, 125.15 g/mol, CAS 107-35-7, IUPAC name 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. It is an endogenous amino sulfonic acid, described in a 2026 trial protocol as a conditionally essential amino acid, and the same single molecule is used in every study on this page. On 11 October 2026 an openFDA Drugs@FDA query for taurine returned four applications, all parenteral amino acid nutrition products that contain taurine as one ingredient: TROPHAMINE (NDA019018, original approval 20 July 1984), AMINOSYN-PF 7% (NDA019398, 6 September 1985), AMINOSYN-PF 10% (NDA019492, 17 October 1986) and PREMASOL (ANDA075880, 19 June 2003). These are intravenous nutrition solutions, not a taurine drug, and not approved for aging or longevity.

Participants / model
Chemical identity, not a clinical population
Treatment
Defined molecule
Follow-up
Searches run on 11 October 2026
Study design
NLM chemical record plus dated US approval-record search
Funding
not stated in the source

DailyMed also lists several taurine-labeled liquid products, which are not described here. FDA dietary-supplement or GRAS status of oral taurine is not established here.

Read the original source
Origin of the claim, 2023: mouse median lifespan up 10 to 12%; health span in monkeys

Animal study

Singh P et al. Science. 2023;380(6649):eabn9257. PMID 37289866.

The authors report that circulating taurine declines with aging in mice, monkeys and humans, that restoring it raised health span and life span in mice and health span in monkeys, and that in humans lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases and rose after acute endurance exercise. They write that clinical trials in humans seem warranted. The full text gives the design: oral taurine 1000 mg/kg once daily to 14-month-old C57BL/6J mice of both sexes until the end of life, with a median lifespan increase of 10 to 12% and a rise in life expectancy at 28 months of 18 to 25% (control median lifespan 871 to 885 days in females and 785 to 815 days in males), and aged rhesus monkeys (15 +/- 1.5 years) given 250 mg/kg daily for 6 months. The human association data came from 11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects. Lifespan was extended in worms and mice, not shown in monkeys or humans.

Participants / model
C57BL/6J mice, C. elegans, aged rhesus monkeys, and human cohort data (11,966 EPIC-Norfolk subjects)
Treatment
Oral taurine by daily gavage in mice and monkeys; supplementation in worms
Follow-up
From 14 months of age to the end of life in mice; 6 months in monkeys
Study design
Animal study with a human association analysis
Funding
NIH, Wellcome and DFG grants among others. Columbia University filed provisional patent applications for which the corresponding author is an inventor

Read from the abstract and selected full-text passages. Human data in this paper are associations, not supplementation results.

Read the original source
Premise challenged, 2025: taurine rose or held steady with age in three studies

Human study

Fernandez ME et al. Science. 2025;388(6751):eadl2116. PMID 40472098.

A 2025 Science paper from the National Institute on Aging group found circulating taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age in three geographically distinct human cohorts, in nonhuman primates and in mice, measured both longitudinally and cross-sectionally, with considerable variability in associations with health outcomes. In 137 physically inactive and active men aged 20 to 93, circulating taurine was not associated with age, muscle mass, strength, physical performance or mitochondrial function (no conflicts declared). In young and old (20 to 30 months) C57BL/6J mice, many amino acids changed in concentration with age, but taurine did not.

Participants / model
Humans in three cohorts; 137 men aged 20 to 93; nonhuman primates; C57BL/6J mice
Treatment
Measurement of circulating taurine; no intervention
Follow-up
Longitudinal and cross-sectional measurement
Study design
Observational and animal studies
Funding
Not stated in the Fernandez 2025 abstract; the Marcangeli 2025 study declared no conflicts

Cohorts, assays and populations differ from the 2023 paper, so these results do not settle the question, but the premise that taurine falls with age is not consensus.

Read the original source
Cohorts: no dementia link in 27,786 Swedes; small knee-strength link in Japanese adults

Human study

Zhang N et al. J Neurochem. 2025;169(11):e70298. PMID 41250277.

In 27,786 participants of the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study followed for a median 25 years (3,224 developed dementia), neither dietary taurine intake nor plasma taurine (measured in 3,693 people) was associated with all-cause dementia, Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, and plasma taurine correlated only weakly with intake. In Japanese adults aged 40 or older followed for 8 years, estimated dietary taurine intake averaging 207.5 mg/day was associated with a smaller decline in knee extension strength in people aged 65 or older and with no change in the other three fitness tests.

Participants / model
27,786 Swedish adults in a prospective cohort; Japanese community-dwelling adults aged 40 or older
Treatment
Dietary intake and plasma level; no supplementation
Follow-up
Median 25 years (Sweden); 8 years (Japan)
Study design
Prospective cohort studies
Funding
Three authors of the Japanese study were employed by Taisho Pharmaceutical; not stated in the source for the Swedish study

Observational dietary associations, not supplementation trials.

Read the original source
Metabolic trials: 25 trials, 1,024 people; blood pressure, glucose and triglycerides lower

Systematic review and meta-analysis

Tzang CC et al. Nutr Diabetes. 2024;14(1):29. PMID 38755142.

A meta-analysis of 25 randomized trials (1,024 participants, doses 0.5 to 6 g/day, follow-up 5 to 365 days, searched to December 2023) found taurine lowered systolic blood pressure by 3.999 mmHg (95% CI -7.293 to -0.706), diastolic by 1.509 mmHg (95% CI -2.479 to -0.539), fasting glucose by 5.882 mg/dL (95% CI -10.747 to -1.018) and triglycerides by 18.315 mg/dL (95% CI -25.628 to -11.002), with no change in HDL cholesterol and no significant adverse effects against control. A separate meta-analysis of 9 randomized trials in adults with overweight or obesity found fasting insulin lower by 2.15 microU/mL (95% CI -3.24 to -1.06), HbA1c lower by 0.33% (95% CI -0.53 to -0.12) in participants with obesity, and BMI lower by 1.14 kg/m2 (95% CI -1.81 to -0.47) in the overweight subgroup.

Participants / model
Adults in 25 randomized trials of metabolic risk; 9 trials in adults with overweight or obesity
Treatment
Oral taurine, 0.5 to 6 g/day
Follow-up
5 to 365 days
Study design
Meta-analyses of randomized trials
Funding
not stated in the source

Both populations are at-risk or metabolic-disease groups with heterogeneous trials, not healthy aging.

Read the original source
Hip fracture trial: no effect on morbidity or one-year mortality

Randomized controlled trial

Van Stijn MF et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2015;16(6):12288-306. PMID 26035756.

Taurine started after admission and continued to the sixth postoperative day did not improve in-hospital morbidity, comorbidities in the first year or mortality in the first year. It lowered a urinary oxidative DNA damage marker (8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; regression coefficient -0.54, 95% CI -1.08 to -0.01, p = 0.04) and blunted the plasma malondialdehyde response (p = 0.05).

Participants / model
Elderly patients with hip fracture
Treatment
Oral taurine or placebo, peri-operative course to postoperative day 6
Follow-up
Treatment to postoperative day 6; follow-up to one year
Study design
Double-blind placebo-controlled randomized trial
Funding
not stated in the source

The abstract does not give the dose or sample size, so neither is stated here.

Read the original source
Safety: observed safe level of 3 g/day for healthy adults; 6 g/day for 4 weeks in cirrhosis

Narrative review

Shao A et al. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2008;50(3):376-99. PMID 18325648.

A quantitative risk assessment found no systematic pattern of adverse effects in human trials of oral taurine, so no NOAEL or LOAEL could be set, and it identified an observed safe level of 3 g/day of supplemental taurine for healthy adults, noting that data above that level were not enough to conclude long-term safety. In 22 patients with cirrhosis and varices analyzed (12 taurine, 10 placebo), 6 g/day for 4 weeks produced mild gastrointestinal discomfort and fatigue comparable between groups, and hepatic venous pressure gradient fell 12% against a 2% rise on placebo.

Participants / model
Healthy adults (risk assessment); 22 patients with cirrhosis
Treatment
Oral taurine, up to 3 g/day (observed safe level); 6 g/day for 4 weeks
Follow-up
Short trials; 4 weeks in the cirrhosis trial
Study design
Risk assessment of human trials; randomized trial
Funding
not stated in the source

Short trials and a disease population. The 2008 assessment predates the aging-focused trials registered since.

Read the original source
Registered aging trials: TauAge (90 adults) completed, no posted results

Trial registry record

ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT06613542 (TauAge, Technical University of Munich), read 11 October 2026. Hong Kong phase II protocol PMID 42201902 (ChiCTR2500102879). ClinicalTrials.gov records NCT07711899 and NCT06635369.

TauAge randomized 90 adults aged 55 to 75 to 4 g/day taurine or placebo for 6 months with quadruple masking; its primary outcomes are change in biological age by plasma proteome and by DNA methylation clocks. The registry lists it completed with primary completion 13 November 2025 and no posted results, and no paper reporting it was found in PubMed. A Hong Kong phase II protocol (3 g/day versus placebo for 6 months in healthcare workers, 80 planned, primary outcome HbA1c, PhenoAge secondary) was published in 2026 with no results. A ClinicalTrials.gov search for taurine aging also returned NCT07711899 (36 older women with obesity, not yet recruiting) and NCT06635369 (taurine in periodontitis and aging, completed, 66 enrolled, no results).

Participants / model
90 adults aged 55 to 75 (TauAge); 80 planned healthcare workers (Hong Kong)
Treatment
Oral taurine, 4 g/day for 6 months (TauAge); 3 g/day for 6 months (Hong Kong); placebo
Follow-up
6 months
Study design
Trial registry records and a published protocol
Funding
not stated in the source

Registered trials without results show that a study was registered, not that it works.

Read the original source

Why is Taurine in C tier?

C fits an inexpensive endogenous compound with a decent short-term safety record and modest randomized-trial effects on blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides and insulin in metabolic-risk groups. The longevity claim rests on one animal paper whose declining-taurine premise three 2025 studies challenge, and no human aging-outcome trial has reported.