Beef Has A Great Story On The Amino Acid Taurine

The importance of taurine hasn't always been recognized. Until the early 1970s, taurine was thought to be a biochemically inert molecule. However, acritical role for taurine in nutrition for mammals was suggested in 1975 with the discovery that retinal degeneration occurs in taurine-deficient c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Beef 2012-12
Main Authors: Wu, Guoyao, H. Russell Cross
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino acids
Baby foods
Beef
Meat
Physiology
Veganism
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The importance of taurine hasn't always been recognized. Until the early 1970s, taurine was thought to be a biochemically inert molecule. However, acritical role for taurine in nutrition for mammals was suggested in 1975 with the discovery that retinal degeneration occurs in taurine-deficient cats. In the same year, it was found that consumption of infant formula without taurine could result in cardiac and retinal dysfunction in preterm babies. Meat is a major dietary source of taurine for humans. A 3-oz. beef steak would provide 55 mg taurine, which would meet about 70% of daily taurine requirement by healthy adults. Because plants contain no taurine, abundant amounts of taurine from all kinds of meats demonstrate another important contribution that animal foods make to improving human health and well-being. It also further underscores the significance and importance of animal agriculture worldwide.
ISSN:0005-7738