Taurine supplementation decreases fat accumulation by suppressing FAS and enhancing ATGL through the ATGL pathway.

Objectives: Obesity leads to severe health issues like cardiovascular disease. Natural substances with anti-obesity properties are gaining attention. This study investigates the impact of taurine on lipid levels in rats fed a high-fat diet.

Materials And Methods: The SD rats were fed a high-fat diet and treated with or without taurine for 21 weeks. Taurine was added to their drinking water, and an adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) inhibitor was injected for one week. The study evaluated the impact of taurine supplementation on the rats' body weight, Lee index, body fat content, serum levels of triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), fatty acid synthase (FAS), ATGL, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) in the liver. Fat accumulation in the liver and aortic arch was assessed through histopathological observations.

Results: The study found that taurine reduced body weight, body fat, serum TG, TC, LDL-C levels, and lipid deposition in the liver and aortic arch while increasing serum HDL-C levels. Taurine intake also increased FAS and ATGL expression in the liver. Interestingly, the ATGL inhibitor atglistatin did not affect FAS and ATGL expression in the presence of taurine.

Conclusion: Taurine can reduce fat deposition caused by a high-fat diet in SD rats by decreasing FAS content and increasing ATGL content. However, taurine does not fully regulate FAS and ATGL expression through the ATGL pathway.