Taurine
Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid)
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
Also known as: 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid
A 2023 paper in Science proposed taurine decline as a driver of ageing. Two separate 2025 papers, one from the NIA's own programme, report that it does not decline.
Overview
Taurine is an amino sulfonic acid found throughout the body and abundant in the diet. In 2023 a paper in Science reported that taurine declines with age across species and that supplementing it extended lifespan in mice and improved health markers in monkeys, which made it briefly the most discussed longevity compound in the world. In 2025 that premise was directly challenged twice. A paper in Aging Cell found no association with age in men, and a paper in Science from the National Institute on Aging's own intramural programme, measuring longitudinally across three human cohorts plus nonhuman primates and mice, reported taurine staying flat or increasing with age. This page presents the dispute rather than resolving it, because it is not resolved.
Mechanism of action
Involved in bile salt conjugation, osmoregulation, calcium handling and mitochondrial protein synthesis. The proposed geroprotective mechanism runs through reduced cellular senescence, improved mitochondrial function and reduced inflammation, and is drawn from the animal work rather than demonstrated in people.
Human evidence
Thin, and the foundational premise is disputed. The headline 2023 result was animal work. The human component of the current dispute is about whether taurine declines with age at all, and the best-designed longitudinal measurement says it does not.
- The National Institute on Aging's longitudinal analysis across three human cohorts found taurine increasing or unchanged with age.
- A separate 2025 analysis in men aged 20 to 93 found no association between taurine and age.
- No randomised trial has tested taurine supplementation for any ageing endpoint in humans.
- The 2023 lifespan result was in a single inbred mouse strain. The yeast arm of that work showed no effect, and the monkey arm had no lifespan data at all.
What this does not tell you: Nothing here says taurine is useless. It says the specific claim that made it famous, that taurine declines with age and that replacing it slows ageing, has had its first premise directly contradicted by better measurement, and its second premise has never been tested in a person.
Reading the research record
Taurine is the cleanest live example on this site of why a single striking paper should not move your behaviour. The 2023 result was published in one of the two most prestigious journals in science, it was covered everywhere, and supplement sales followed within weeks. Two years later the premise underneath it is contested by two independent groups, one of them the National Institute on Aging.
The pattern is worth recognising because it keeps repeating. Resveratrol, curcumin, fisetin and nicotinamide riboside all arrived with strong early results and all failed to replicate in the multi-site Interventions Testing Program. Taurine has no published Interventions Testing Program result yet. When one arrives it will be considerably more informative than anything currently in circulation, in either direction.
The evidence, charted
Fig. 1 · evidence composition
1of 1 citation (100%) is in people
Every citation cited here is Human work; no other study type is cited on this page. This count is of our own citation list and understates any literature larger than the sources we cite.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
Every citation here was published in 2025.
Too few distinct publication years on this page to plot as a timeline.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four jurisdictions shown. A jurisdiction's classification is a regulatory fact, not a verdict on the science; see Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Key studies & citations
- Human2025
Is taurine an aging biomarker?
From the National Institute on Aging intramural programme. Measured longitudinally across three human cohorts, nonhuman primates and mice, taurine increased or stayed unchanged with age, contradicting the decline premise the 2023 lifespan paper rests on.
Science
What users report
Self-reported experiences, not evidence. Nothing below was measured under controlled conditions, and reports like these cannot separate a real effect from placebo, from the training or diet change that accompanied it, or from what the product actually contained. They are here because knowing what people describe, including what goes wrong, is worth reading alongside the studies.
- Commonly taken at one to six grams a day following the 2023 paper, a dose extrapolated from the mouse work rather than derived from any human trial.
- Reported effects are mostly subjective calm or improved sleep, which taurine has separate and older literature on.
- Widely combined with other longevity supplements, which makes individual attribution impossible in self-report.
Sources: Longevity forums and supplement communities. Uncontrolled self-report.
Frequently asked questions
Does taurine decline with age?
That was the premise of the 2023 Science paper and it is now disputed. A 2025 paper in the same journal, from the National Institute on Aging's own programme, measured it longitudinally across three human cohorts and found taurine increasing or staying flat with age. A separate 2025 analysis found no association either.
Did taurine extend lifespan?
In mice, in one study, in a single inbred strain. The yeast arm of the same work showed no effect and the monkey arm contained no lifespan data. No human trial has tested any ageing endpoint.
Should I take it?
That is your decision and this page will not make it for you. What we can tell you is that the claim driving current interest has had its foundational premise contradicted by better measurement, and that the compound itself has a long safety record at dietary doses.