**Anticholesterolemic and Antiatherogenic Effects of Taurine Supplementation is Model Dependent**

Karl-Erik Eilertsen, Rune Larsen, Hanne K. Mæhre, Ida-Johanne Jensen and Edel O. Elvevoll

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/47865

#### **1. Introduction**

268 Lipoproteins – Role in Health and Diseases

107: 522-529.

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> Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a sulphur-containing compound characterized as an amino acid. The presence of a sulfonic group, as opposed to a carboxyl group in other amino acids, gives taurine a pKa value of 1.5 and it is the most acidic amino acid. It is an exclusively free amino acid, i.e. it is not incorporated into proteins, but still widely distributed in most body tissues.

Taurine was identified almost two centuries ago and was named after the ox, *Bos taurus*, since it was first isolated from the bile of ox [1]. After its discovery, taurine was considered non-essential and biologically inert, however a multitude of functions have now been identified. Yet, all its physiological roles have not been fully elucidated. The phylogenetically oldest and best documented function of taurine is conjugation with bile acids in bile salt synthesis [2, 3]. In addition, taurine is involved in a variety of physiological processes as extensively reviewed [2], including neuromodulation in the central nervous system [4], energy production [5], protection against oxidation [6, 7] and immunomodulation

© 2012 Eilertsen et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © 2012 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

[8, 9]. An osmoregulatory role of taurine has also been established, playing a pivotal role in Central nervous system (CNS) cell volume regulation [10-12].

In felines taurine is considered indispensable and dietary deficiency leads to several clinical problems, including retinal degeneration and developmental abnormalities [13]. In humans it is regarded as a conditionally essential amino acid due to a limited ability to synthesize it [14, 15]. Taurine is now thought to play a more important role in human nutrition, and an increased dietary intake of taurine has been linked to several beneficial health outcomes in various diseases and medical conditions [16-18].
