BACKGROUND The complete blood count is one of the most common routine tests. This study aimed to evaluate possible effects of the antioxidant taurine on the complete blood count of whole blood stored at room temperature and at 4ºC over seven days. METHODS Venous blood samples of 25 healthy males were distributed into two sets of tubes with each set of four tubes containing 50 µL of solutions ...

A new volatile derivative of taurine, N-isobutoxycarbonyltaurine methyl ester (methyl 2-(N-isobutoxycarbonylamino)ethanesulfonate), was prepared by a three-step procedure for the gas chromatographic determination of taurine in urine. First, taurine was converted to its silver salt by reaction with silver oxide; next the silver salt was reacted with isobutyl chloroformate to form the N-isobutoxy...

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulphonic acid), a sulphur-containing amino acid, is found in most mammalian tissues. Although it can be synthesized endogenously, the major source of taurine is from the diet. Taurine was found to exhibit diverse biological actions, including protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury, modulation of intracellular calcium concentration, and antioxidant, antiatherogenic...

Excitatory amino acid transporters (EAATs) are structurally related plasma membrane proteins known to mediate the Na(+)/K(+)-dependent uptake of the amino acids l-glutamate and dl-aspartate. In the nervous system, these proteins contribute to the clearance of glutamate from the synaptic cleft and maintain excitatory amino acid concentrations below excitotoxic levels. Two homologues exist in Dro...

Cardiovascular diseases form the major health concern in recent years, causing severe illness and death throughout the world. About 16.7 million people around the globe die of myocardial infarction every year (WHO 2004) which forms one third of global deaths. Clinically, taurine has been widely used in variety of conditions including cardiovasculardiseases, hypercholesterolemia, macular degener...

A study was undertaken to investigate the dietary effect of taurine in chronic alcoholic patients. The 30 chronic alcoholic patients with 2 to 5 times greater than normal activities of aspartate transaminase (AST) or alanine transaminase (ALT) were selected and equally divided into taurine and control groups. In the taurine group, each patient took 6 g taurine per day, divided into 3 doses, for...

A B s x a A C v In the dark, the photoaffinity reagent, N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-2aminoethylsulfonate (NAP-taurine), acts as a reversible inhibitor of red cell anion exchange when it is present either within the cell or in the external solution. A detailed analysis of the inhibition kinetics, however, reveals substantial differences in the responses to the probe at the two sides of the membran...

Exposure of cells to intense light with the photoactivatable reagent, N-(4-azido-2-nitrophenyl)-2-aminoethylsulfonate (NAP-taurine), present in the external medium results in irreversible inhibition of chloride or sulfate exchange. This irreversible inhibition seems to result from covalent reaction with the same sites to which NAP-taurine binds reversibly in the dark. As shown in the preceding ...

Several studies have shown the deleterious effects of energy drinks, containing taurine and caffeine, on cardiac health. This study aimed to examine synergistic effect of taurine and caffeine on p latelets and haemostasis because platelet hyperactivity is a known predictor of cardiovascular diseases. Blood from twelve healthy volunteers aged 18 – 60 years was incubated with 500 μM taurine and 7...

The relationship between pancreatic fibrosis and apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells has not been fully elucidated. We reported that taurine had an anti-fibrotic effect in a dibutyltin dichloride (DBTC)-chronic pancreatitis model. However, the effect of taurine on apoptosis of pancreatic acinar cells is still unclear. Therefore, we examined apoptosis in DBTC-chronic pancreatitis and in the AR4...