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The effects of taurine supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

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Abstract

Previous studies have suggested that taurine has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects on experimental diabetic models. Therefore, this clinical trial was designed to explore the impacts of taurine supplementation on glycemic control and lipid profile in the patients with T2DM. This study was conducted on 45 patients with T2DM in Tabriz Sheikhor-raees Polyclinic and Imam-Reza Hospital Endocrine Center. Subjects were randomly divided into taurine and placebo groups. Accordingly, the taurine group (n = 23) received taurine 3000 mg/daily and the placebo group (n = 22) took crystalline microcellulose/daily for the duration of 8 weeks. At baseline and after the trial completion, fasting blood samples were obtained from the patients to assess the glycemic indicators and lipid profile. Independent t test, paired t test, Pearson’s correlation, and analysis of covariance was used for analysis. At the end of the study, levels of FBS (p = 0.01), insulin (p = 0.01), HOMA-IR (p = 0.003), TC (p = 0.013), and LDL-C (p = 0.041) significantly decreased in the taurine group compared to the placebo group. In addition, there was no significant changes in HbA1c, triglyceride, HDL-C, anthropometric indicators or dietary intakes by passing 8 weeks from the intervention. In conclusion, the findings of the current study indicated that taurine supplementation (3000 mg/day) for 8 weeks could improve the glycemic indexes and lipid profiles including TC and LDL-C in the patients with T2DM.

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Abbreviations

Akt:

Protein kinase B

ALX:

Alloxan

AMPK:

5′ AMP-activated protein kinase

Apo A-I:

Apolipoprotein A I

Apo B:

Apolipoprotein B

BMI:

Body mass index

DM:

Diabetes mellitus

FBS:

Fasting blood sugar

HbA1c:

Hemoglobin A1C

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HOMA-IR:

Homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance

IPAQ:

International physical activity questionnaire

IRβ:

Insulin receptor Β-subunit

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

Lp(a):

Lipoprotein (a)

OLETF:

Otsuka long evans tokushima fatty

STZ:

Streptozotocin

TC:

Total cholesterol

TG:

Triglyceride

UCP1:

Uncoupling protein 1

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all members of the present study group for their ideas, suggestions, participation and support. This study is a part of a thesis proposal for Ph.D. degree. The thesis proposal was approved by Medical Ethics Committee of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (IR.TBZMED.REC.1397.682). Moreover, the authors acknowledge TBZMED for their financial support.

Funding

This study was funded by Vice Chancellor for Research at Nutrition Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Vahid Maleki

  2. Department of Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Science, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Vahid Maleki & Fatemeh Esmaeili

  3. Nutrition Research Center, Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

    Mohammad Alizadeh & Reza Mahdavi

Authors
  1. Vahid Maleki
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  2. Mohammad Alizadeh
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  3. Fatemeh Esmaeili
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  4. Reza Mahdavi
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Contributions

VM: Contributed to the study conception, design and data collection and drafting the manuscript. MA: Participated in study design, revising the paper and approving the version of the manuscript being submitted. FE: Contributed to the interpretation of data, revising the paper critically and giving final approval. RM: Participated in study design, revising the paper and approving the version of the manuscript being submitted.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Reza Mahdavi.

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The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.

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All the study procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research ethics committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Written informed consents were obtained from all participants.

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Handling Editor S. W. Schaffer.

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Maleki, V., Alizadeh, M., Esmaeili, F. et al. The effects of taurine supplementation on glycemic control and serum lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Amino Acids 52, 905–914 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02859-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-020-02859-8

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