Dietary taurine reduces zinc-induced toxicity in male Wistar rats.

Taurine is an agent for treating the heavy metal intoxication and presence of metals such as zinc, copper, and iron may have a role in heavy metal toxicity, a study was undertaken to investigate the effect of taurine on the toxicity of zinc in male Wistar rats. The rats were divided into 8 groups and fed different diets with or without supplement of 5% taurine and 150 to 600 ppm zinc for 2 mo. It was found that the body weight of rats, the ratios of liver and kidney weight to body weight, and the level of glutathione in the liver were decreased with increasing the dose of zinc.