Taurine (Noun)
Meaning
A colorless crystalline substance obtained from the bile of mammals.
Classification
Nouns denoting substances.
Examples
- Taurine was first isolated from the bile of an ox in the early 19th century by German chemists Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin.
- The chemical structure of taurine consists of a sulfonic acid group, an amino group, and a hydroxyl group attached to a carbon atom.
- Taurine is widely distributed in animal tissues and is found in high concentrations in the bile, heart, and skeletal muscles of mammals.
- The metabolism of taurine in mammals involves the breakdown of cysteine and cystine in the liver and kidneys to produce taurine.
- Taurine serves as a major constituent of bile acids, which are critical for the digestion and absorption of fats in the gut.