This 2021 rodent study found:

“We show that gut microbiota from previously infected hosts display enhanced resistance to infection. This long-term functional remodeling is associated with altered bile acid metabolism leading to expansion of taxa that utilize taurine.

Supplying exogenous taurine alone is sufficient to induce this alteration in microbiota function and enhance resistance. Taurine potentiates microbiota production of sulfide, an inhibitor of cellular respiration, which is key to host invasion by numerous pathogens.

This work reveals a process by which the host, triggered by infection, can deploy taurine as a nutrient to nourish and train microbiota, promoting its resistance to subsequent infection.”

https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(20)31681-0 “Infection trains the host for microbiota-enhanced resistance to pathogens” (not freely available)

News coverage added:

“The studied infections induced host taurine production and expansion of taurine utilizers. Taurine was the trigger for activity of a class of bacteria that fight these infections.

The group’s data suggest that low levels of taurine allow pathogens to colonize the gut, but high levels produce enough hydrogen sulfide to prevent colonization. Taurine given to mice in drinking water prepared microbiota to prevent infection. However, when mice drank water containing bismuth subsalicylate, a common over-the-counter drug used to treat diarrhea and upset stomach, infection protection waned because bismuth inhibits hydrogen sulfide production.”

Can’t calculate a human equivalent dose without access to this study. I take 1 gram of taurine twice a day.

Per Treating psychopathological symptoms will somehow resolve causes? I resumed taurine supplementation last year after taking a year’s break. From that paper’s taurine section:

“Most studies that reported enhanced GSH [glutathione] in the brain following taurine treatment were performed under a chronic regimen and used in age-related disease models.

Such positive effects of taurine on GSH levels may be explained by the fact that cysteine is the essential precursor to both metabolites, whereby taurine supplementation may drive metabolism of cysteine towards GSH synthesis.”

If that paper’s hypothesis is correct, and the current study’s evidence is replicable, taurine supplementation is a win-win for both our brain and gut microbiota.

Sunrise minus 5 minutes