Pharmacokinetics of oral taurine in healthy volunteers

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 (C(max)) was measured at 1.5 ± 0.6 hr after administration as 86.1 ± 19.0 mg/L (0.69 ± 0.15 mmol). Plasma elimination half-life (T(1/2)) and the ratio of clearance/bioavailability (Cl/F) were 1.0 ± 0.3 hr and 21.1 ± 7.8 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.