Does taurine deficiency contribute to aging, and can taurine supplementation improve health span and life span?
Taurine, an animal study (Science 2023, PMID 37289866) — taurine levels decline with age, and supplementing taurine improved health and longevity in animals, suggesting it may play a role in human aging. No numeric effect size is reported for Taurine in the source abstract.
Source: Science 2023, PMID 37289866 ↗ · Research map · How Magellan grades evidence · evidence confidence: low
Science · 2023 · PMID 37289866 · DOI 10.1126/science.abn9257
Taurine levels decline with age, and supplementing taurine improved health and longevity in animals, suggesting it may play a role in human aging.
The question
Does taurine deficiency contribute to aging, and can taurine supplementation improve health span and life span?
What they tested
Taurine deficiency is a driver of aging, and its reversal through supplementation can increase health span and life span.
How they did it
The study observed circulating taurine levels in aging mice, monkeys, and humans. It then investigated the effects of taurine supplementation on health span and life span in mice and monkeys. Mechanistic studies examined taurine's impact on cellular senescence, telomerase deficiency, mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, and inflammaging. Human data correlated taurine concentrations with age-related diseases and measured taurine levels after acute endurance exercise.
What they found
Circulating taurine concentrations declined with aging in mice, monkeys, and humans. Taurine supplementation increased health span and life span in mice, and health span in monkeys. Mechanistically, taurine reduced cellular senescence, protected against telomerase deficiency, suppressed mitochondrial dysfunction, decreased DNA damage, and attenuated inflammaging. In humans, lower taurine concentrations correlated with several age-related diseases, and taurine concentrations increased after acute endurance exercise.
What it means
Taurine deficiency may be a driver of aging, as its reversal through supplementation increased health span in worms, rodents, and primates, and life span in worms and rodents. Clinical trials are warranted to investigate this in humans.
Limitations
The study notes that human data showed correlations and an increase after exercise, but direct intervention trials in humans to assess taurine's impact on aging were not conducted. The findings in worms, rodents, and primates need to be confirmed in human clinical trials.
The paper at a glance
| Magellan’s evidence label | conditionally essential amino acid (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors) |
|---|---|
| Journal | Science |
| Year | 2023 |
| PMID | 37289866 ↗ |
| DOI | 10.1126/science.abn9257 ↗ |
| Topic | Senescence, senolytics & the hallmarks of aging |
Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗
Where Magellan uses this paper
This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.
Taurine
A landmark 2023 study reported that taurine declines with age in mice, monkeys, and humans and that supplementation extended lifespan and healthspan in animals by reducing cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, DNA damage, and inflammation—but no randomized trial has yet shown that taurine slows aging in…
Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) is a conditionally essential, sulfur-containing amino acid that is…
Research describes the compound or intervention studied. It is not a claim about any specific product.
Molecules & mechanisms in this paper
Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.
Cite this page
These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.
Magellan Longevity. (2026). Does taurine deficiency contribute to aging, and can taurine supplementation improve health span and life span? [Plain-English summary of Science 2023, PMID 37289866, DOI 10.1126/science.abn9257]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s124.html@misc{magellan_s124,
title = {Does taurine deficiency contribute to aging, and can taurine supplementation improve health span and life span?},
author = {{Magellan Longevity}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s124.html}},
note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 37289866; DOI 10.1126/science.abn9257; Science 2023. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO},
urldate = {2026-08-11}
}https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s124.htmlRelated studies in the Magellan library
- Insights into the therapeutic strategies for aging and aging-associated diseasesSignal Transduction and Targeted Therapy · 2026 · PMID 42225652
- Taurine as a biomarker for aging: A new avenue for translational researchAdv Biomark Sci Technol · 2023 · PMID 38435677
- Effects of taurine supplementation following eccentric exercise in young adultsAppl Physiol Nutr Metab · 2013 · PMID 24383513
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy increases telomere length and decreases immunosenescence in isolated…Aging (Albany NY) · 2020 · PMID 33206062
- Cellular Senescence: A Translational PerspectiveEBioMedicine · 2017 · PMID 28416161
- Effect of Urolithin A Supplementation on Muscle Endurance and Mitochondrial Health in Older…JAMA Netw Open · 2022 · PMID 35050355
All 8 Magellan summaries on senescence, senolytics & the hallmarks of aging →
Prefer the interactive version? Open this summary in the Magellan app → · Browse all 314 study summaries →