Pharmacokinetics of Oral Taurine in Healthy Volunteers

Abstract

Taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid, is a normal constituent of the human diet. Little is known of the pharmacokinetics of taurine in man after oral administration. We studied the pharmacokinetics of 4 g taurine in eight healthy male volunteers (median age 27.5, range 22–45) following orally administration in the fasting state in the morning. Blood samples were taken at regular intervals and plasma taurine concentration was measured by a modified HPLC method. Data were subjected to noncompartmental analysis. Maximum plasma taurine concentration () was measured at  hr after administration as  mg/L ( mmol). Plasma elimination half-life () and the ratio of clearance/bioavailability (Cl/F) were  hr and  L/hr, respectively. Since taurine is occasionally used in therapeutics as a medicine, the pharmacokinetics and effects of oral taurine in healthy volunteers would be useful in the future studies of taurine in pharmacology and nutrition.