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The impact of taurine- and beta-alanine-supplemented diets on behavioral and neurochemical parameters in mice: antidepressant versus anxiolytic-like effects.

Amino acids
July 1, 2010
Tatsuro Murakami et al. (2 authors)
Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tAnimal Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to investigate the effects of chronic beta-alanine supplementation on depression-like behavior and brain metabolites in mice under acute stress.

Results Summary

Beta-alanine supplementation showed anxiolytic-like effects, increasing open-arm exploration in the elevated plus-maze test and altering brain metabolites, including decreased serotonin metabolite levels and increased carnosine and BDNF concentrations.

Population

Mice

Effective Dosage

22.5 mmol/kg diet

Duration

Chronic (exact duration not specified)

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (12)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
taurine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
decrease
duration of immobility
mice
-
significant decrease
#1
taurine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
taurine concentration
mice
-
increased
#2
taurine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
L: -arginine concentration
mice
-
increased
#3
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
percentage of time spent in the open arms
mice
-
significant increases
#4
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
entries in the open arms
mice
-
significant increases
#5
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
decrease
concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid
mice
-
decreased
#6
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
carnosine (beta-alanyl-L: -histidine) concentration
mice
-
increased
#7
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
increase
brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentration
mice
-
increased
#8
taurine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
decrease
depression-like behavior
mice
-
had an antidepressant-like effect
#9
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
decrease
anxiety-like behavior
mice
-
had an anxiolytic-like effect
#10
taurine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
no change
locomotor activity
mice
-
no significant difference
#11
beta-alanine-supplemented diet (22.5 mmol/kg diet)
no change
locomotor activity
mice
-
no significant difference
#12
Abstract

Taurine, a substrate of taurine transporter, has functions as a neuromodulator and antioxidant and beta-alanine, a taurine transporter inhibitor, has a role as a neurotransmitter in the brain, and they were expected to be involved in depression-like behavior and antidepressant treatment. These facts aroused our interest in new capabilities of taurine and beta-alanine. Thus, to investigate the effects of chronic ingestion of taurine- (22.5 mmol/kg diet) supplemented diet and beta-alanine- (22.5 mmol/kg diet) supplemented diet under acute stressful conditions, behavioral changes and brain metabolites were compared with mice fed a control diet. In the open field test, no significant difference was observed in locomotor activity among groups. In the elevated plus-maze test, however, significant increases in the percentage of time spent and entries in the open arms were observed in the beta-alanine-supplemented diet fed group compared to both controls and animals fed with taurine-supplemented diet. Moreover, a significant decrease in the duration of immobility was observed in the taurine-supplemented diet group in the forced swimming test compared to both controls and animals fed with beta-alanine-supplemented diet. Taurine-supplemented diet increased taurine and L: -arginine concentrations in the hypothalamus. In contrast, beta-alanine-supplemented diet decreased the concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, a major metabolite of serotonin, in the hypothalamus. Beta-alanine-supplemented diet also increased carnosine (beta-alanyl-L: -histidine) concentration in the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus, and brain-derived neurotrophic factor concentration in the hippocampus. These results suggested that taurine-supplemented diet had an antidepressant-like effect and beta-alanine-supplemented diet had an anxiolytic-like effect.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
AnimalsAnti-Anxiety AgentsAntidepressive AgentsArginineBehavior, AnimalBrain-Derived Neurotrophic FactorCarnosineCerebral CortexDietary SupplementsHippocampusHydroxyindoleacetic AcidHypothalamusMaleMiceMice, Inbred ICRStress, PsychologicalTaurinebeta-Alanine
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy75/10
Quality70/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations69
Citations/Year4.6
Relative Citation Ratio2.31
NIH Percentile78.7%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.50
Weight Score0.94
Normalized Score0.64
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