Taurine alleviates dyslipidemia and liver damage induced by a high-fat/cholesterol-dietary habit Shun-Fa Yang a,b,c,1 , Bor-Show Tzang c,d,e,1 , Kuo-Tai Yang f,1 , Yuan-Chao Hsiao g , Yuan-Yen Chang c,h , Chi-Ho Chan h , Shih-Guei Fu i , Yi-Chen Chen g,j, * a Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan b Department of Medical Research, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 402, Taiwan c Clinical Laboratory, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 402, Taiwan d Institute of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan e Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan f Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 115, Taiwan g School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan h Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan i Department of Applied Life Science, Cha-Nan University of Pharmacy and Science, Tainan County 700, Taiwan j Department of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung 402, Taiwan article info Article history: Received 19 March 2009 Received in revised form 13 August 2009 Accepted 5 October 2009 Keywords: Taurine Serum lipids Hepatic lipids Faecal lipids and bile acid HMG-CoA reductase CYP7A1 LDL receptor GPT GOT Hepatic C-reactive protein abstract Eight male hamsters per group were assigned randomly to one of the following diets: chow diet (Con- trol); high-fat/cholesterol diet (HFCD); HFCD supplemented with 1% Tau (HFCD/1% Tau); HFCD supple- mented with 2% Tau (HFCD/2% Tau). Tau supplementation improved (P < 0.05) serum lipids and cholesterol profile in the high-fat/cholesterol-dietary hamsters. Although hepatic cholesterol/triacylglyc- erol in the high-fat/cholesterol-dietary hamsters were not (P > 0.05) changed by Tau supplementation, faecal cholesterol and bile acid outputs were increased (P < 0.05). Two percent Tau supplementation unregulated (P < 0.05) HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7-a hydroxylase (CYP7A1) expressions in the high-fat/cholesterol-dietary hamsters. Besides, Tau supplementation also increased (P < 0.05) LDL receptor mRNA expressions in high-fat/cholesterol-dietary hamsters. Tau supplementation also reduced serum GPT and GOT values and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the high-fat/cholesterol-dietary ham- sters. Results clearly indicated that Tau could alleviate blood lipids and hepatic damage induced by a high-fat/cholesterol-dietary diet. Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Lifestyle-related disorders, namely obesity, diabetes, hyperlip- idemia and hypertension, are threatening human health and are regarded as important risks in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD has been the number one leading cause of hu- man death in the United States (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2009) as has also been observed in Taiwan. Cerebrovascular disease, heart disease, and hypertensive disease are second, third, and tenth major causes of death in Taiwan, respectively (Department of Health, Executive Yuan, ROC, 2008). The common epidemic reason for hyperlipid- emia is excessive or improper lipid intake. Taurine (Tau) (2-amino ethanesulphonic acid) is one of the ma- jor and free intracellular amino acids in many mammalian tissues, such as brain, retina, myocardium, skeletal muscle, liver, platelets, and leukocytes (Lee et al., 2004). Its bio-physiological functions in- clude detoxification, antioxidant, membrane stabilization and osmoregulation, neuromodulation, and brain and retina develop- ment (Lee et al., 2004). Tau is only considered in lipid metabolism when it conjugates with bile acids in the liver, which increases the use of bile acids that emulsify dietary fat to form micelles for fat absorption in the small intestine (Yamanaka, Tsuji, & Ichikawa, 1986). Serum cholesterol (TC) and triacylglycerol (TAG), as well as serum cholesterol profile (the ratio of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol/total cholesterol, HDL-C/TC) are known as biomarkers for CVD. For decreasing risk of CVD, scientists try to decrease TC and TAG, or to increase HDL-C/TC. Zhang et al. (2004) recruited 0308-8146/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.10.001 * Corresponding author. Address: School of Nutrition, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan. Tel.: +886 4 24730022x11747; fax: +886 4 23248175. E-mail address: ycchen@csmu.edu.tw (Y.-C. Chen). 1 These authors contributed equally to the paper. Food Chemistry 120 (2010) 156–162 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food Chemistry journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchem