27 replies to this topic

[brundall]

Is taurine a stimulant or a relaxant (or neither)? I currently take 500mg in the evening before bed as i am mostly vegetarian now and I take carnosine daily as well. The research I have done always seem to point to taking it at night. So why is it that Taurine is a major ingredient in energy drinks? If it is a stimulant - should it not be taken during the day?

[EmbraceUnity]

If it is a stimulant, it is definitely not a strong one. Some people think it calms them or even makes them sleepy, and have it in the night time. The main thing is to take it on an empty stomach, or at least not with other protein or amino acid sources.

[full_circle]

above is a pic of the most popular "recovery drink" in korea, its main ingredient, taurine. i find it relaxingly stimulating definately sharper mental focus but at the same time take your edge off. somewhat like GABA with caffein, maybe?
when i drink it as nighty night tea, i get vivid, lucid dream and wakes up well rested next morning. taurine is also used for ischemic stroke patients together with choline (it easily crosses BBB)
oh and i also heard that taurine is a decent heavy metal chelator which also means that it may deplete iron, copper etc. in your body.

Edited by full_circle, 25 March 2010 - 02:23 AM.

[full_circle]

"take it on an empty stomach, or at least not with other protein or amino acid sources."

i wonder why?

[EmbraceUnity]

"take it on an empty stomach, or at least not with other protein or amino acid sources."

i wonder why?

Amino Acids tend to compete in your body.

[full_circle]

hmm.. taurine is not really an amino acid

[tlm884]

hmm.. taurine is not really an amino acid

Taurine is an amino acid, just not one of the twenty the body uses for protein synthesis. Taurine has many functions in the body and lots of research behind it. It is added to energy drinks such as Red Bull to conteract some of the negative side effects of a high dose of caffeine such as the jitters. It functions like an inhibitory neurotransmitter like glycine in the brain.

[hamishm00]

It's also added to energy drinks to reduce the toxic effect of alcohol - red bull + vodka.

[tlm884]

It's also added to energy drinks to reduce the toxic effect of alcohol - red bull + vodka.

It helps but i dont think they were designed that way. Read the Red Bull can it says don't mix with alcohol.

[ajnast4r]

its added to act as an anxiolytic for the caffeine...

[hamishm00]

That's a bit of a laugh considering red bull sponsors so many smirnoff events and vica versa?

Edited by hamishm00, 25 March 2010 - 06:12 AM.

[tlm884]

That's a bit of a laugh considering red bull sponsors so many smirnoff events and vica versa?

Well, I know in Canada on the side of a Red Bull it says "Do not mix with alcohol."

[JLL]

Here's a post I wrote a while ago:

Does Taurine Improve Cognitive Performance and Mood?

[KimberCT]

Taurine increases GABA levels by acting as a gaba transaminase inhibitor. It also binds to glycine receptors. Both actions would better be described as relaxing rather than stimulating.

[OneScrewLoose]

Yeah, it's a relaxer they stick in there to get rid of the jitters from all the other stuff. You see it on the front of every energy drink can probably because people think it's a stimulant.

[tlm884]

Yeah, it's a relaxer they stick in there to get rid of the jitters from all the other stuff. You see it on the front of every energy drink can probably because people think it's a stimulant.

And it works. If I have the amount of caffeine in an energy drink in coffee or a tablet I have horrible jitters. But throw some 1000mg of taurine in there and the jitters are gone.

[medievil]

its added to act as an anxiolytic for the caffeine...

Seems about right, caffeine makes me very jittery while energy drinks with taurine added give me a good mood boost without the downsides of cafeine on its own.

[benbest]

I recently did my own review on whatever PubMed papers
I could find on taurine and added my summary to a section of the
Miscellaneous Micronutrient Supplements page on my website:

http://www.benbest.c...pp.html#taurine

-- Ben Best

[Animal]

its added to act as an anxiolytic for the caffeine...

Seems about right, caffeine makes me very jittery while energy drinks with taurine added give me a good mood boost without the downsides of cafeine on its own.

I think it has a mild inhibitory effect on GABA deaminase, but don't quote me on that.

[Don Taucher]

I’ve always wondered why taurine is added into energy drinks, because taurine is well known to be a GABA receptor agonist, which is inhibitory to neuronal firing. So if taurine has tranquilizing abilities, why is it added to energy drinks, which are supposed to keep one excited?

It was stated above in the comments that taurine is added to energy drinks probably to alleviate and quench the uncomfortable side effects of caffeine, such as heart palpitation, jitteriness and anxiety. But a can of Red Bull, 250ml, contains 80mg of caffeine which is similar to a cup of coffee. 80 mg of caffeine is not a high amount, therefore it shouldn’t cause jitters for most people. So still, it wasn’t clear for me, why there is a 1 gram of taurine added in a can of Red Bull.

Finally I’ve come across a paper which answered the question:

A ratio of taurine : caffeine (12.5 mg taurine : 1 mg caffeine) inhibits sleep of fruit fly Drosophila (which shares similar sleep–wake cycle mechanisms with mammals) to a greater extent than the equivalent amount of caffeine alone. The same taurine : caffeine ratio is used in Red Bull (1000 mg taurine: 80 mg caffeine = 12.5 : 1), producing the desired effect of energy drinks: sustained activity that is enhanced compared to beverages that contain only caffeine but not taurine, e.g. coffee.

Here is the link to the study:
http://www.dovepress...wed-article-NSS

Neurochemistry is a complex subject. Usually the inhibitor should weaken the effect of exciter. In the case of taurine and caffeine, we see the opposite. It seems that at specific ratio sedative, inhibitor (taurine) enhances the effect of a stimulant (caffeine), making caffeine even more potent stimulant.

It’s an interesting example on how subtly various compounds while working together at specific dosage can affect the organism, producing different effects than those substances would when consumed separately.

Edited by Don Taucher, 19 May 2012 - 08:59 PM.

[protoject]

I thought I'd let you guys know that I actually found a study whose results said that Taurine is somehow involved in the release of chemicals from the pleasure centre in the brain when someone takes Ethanol [alcohol].... and if you take the two together the effect is increased.

Hangon, let me try to find it...

GAH... can't find it. Maybe I'm wrong. Anyway I see a lot of other reasons that Taurine with alcohol is good.. for example neuroprotection from ethanol-induced brain cell apoptosis .. liver protection.. etc

Also appears it might be beneficial to prevent Alcohol Withdrawal in alcoholics...

[Raza]

Taurine and alcohol are both GABA-a agonists. They compete and overlap in function, with alcohol having a bunch of extra effects that taurine doesn't share.

S'why taurine helps against alcohol withdrawals.

Mild to moderate GABA stimulation also almost always tends to go well with stimulants. Mildly counterintuitive, but they're simply not affecting the same variable of excitedness. You end up getting most of the benefits of both and the drawbacks of neither, when well-slept and taking balanced doses.

Edited by Raza, 06 June 2012 - 11:36 AM.

[Solipsis]

Excellent information in the thread, thank you. I always wondered what the purpose of taurine was, putting it in energy drinks.

I'd still rather get theanine in a caffeine-containing beverage. As I understand it in green tea, caffeine can complex with theanine and derivates to form an attenuating form - giving it both stimulating but easy and gentle effects instead of jittery. Yerba Maté is also interesting, not sure what's in there but likewise I think it's a preparation superior to coffee.

[eon]

There was a listed smart drug in the book Smart Drugs & Nutrient, called glutaurine. I could only find one company who sells it as a bodybuilding supplement. The company is based in South Africa and I was looking for a U.S. seller of it. I can't find none. So it is a combo of glutamic acid (glutamate) and taurine. Would simply supplementing with both taurine and glutamine powders work the same? I think I may have seen these combo in whey protein powders.

[niner]

There was a listed smart drug in the book Smart Drugs & Nutrient, called glutaurine. I could only find one company who sells it as a bodybuilding supplement. The company is based in South Africa and I was looking for a U.S. seller of it. I can't find none. So it is a combo of glutamic acid (glutamate) and taurine. Would simply supplementing with both taurine and glutamine powders work the same? I think I may have seen these combo in whey protein powders.

 

Glutaurine is an interesting molecule.  It's not a mixture of glu and tau, though.  They would have to be bonded to each other in a specific way.  Glutaurine is also known a "Litoralon". 

[eon]

OK so I guess what that company was selling isn't exactly glutaurine but simply glutamate and taurine together.

 

So it's not the same as taking magnesium and a glycine powder to make it magnesium glycinate, right? 

 

Who knows of a glutaurine source?

 

 

There was a listed smart drug in the book Smart Drugs & Nutrient, called glutaurine. I could only find one company who sells it as a bodybuilding supplement. The company is based in South Africa and I was looking for a U.S. seller of it. I can't find none. So it is a combo of glutamic acid (glutamate) and taurine. Would simply supplementing with both taurine and glutamine powders work the same? I think I may have seen these combo in whey protein powders.

 

Glutaurine is an interesting molecule.  It's not a mixture of glu and tau, though.  They would have to be bonded to each other in a specific way.  Glutaurine is also known a "Litoralon". 

 

 

[niner]

Well, glutaurine is a real compound.  If they are selling something that they are calling "glutaurine", then it should be the real thing or they are mislabeling their product.  (It's always possible that they are simply incompetent-- the barrier to entry in the small-time supplement business is pretty low.    You could probably make magnesium glycinate in your kitchen if you knew what you were doing.  It's easier than making glutaurine.  However, just taking a magnesium pill and a glycine pill at the same time isn't going to work very well, if at all.

[eon]

Lots of companies sell the creatine, glutamine, taurine combo. these products are generally labeled as CGT.

 

This company sells glu-taurine but seems like it's just a combo of L-Glutamine and Taurine:

 

http://www.nutritech...za/glu-taurine/