Taurine, or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, is an organic compound, distributed in animal tissues. It is a major constituent of bile and can be found in the large intestine, accounts for up to 0.1% of total human body weight. Taurine is named after the Latin taurus which means bull or ox, as it was first isolated from ox bile in 1827 by German scientists Friedrich Tiedemann and Leopold Gmelin, it was discovered in human bile in 1846 by Edmund Ronalds. Taurine has many biological roles, such as conjugation of bile acids, osmoregulation, membrane stabilization, modulation of calcium signaling, it is essential for cardiovascular function, development and function of skeletal muscle, the retina, the central nervous system. Taurine is an unusual example of a occurring sulfonic acid. Taurine exists as a zwitterion H3N + CH2CH2SO3 -; the sulfonic acid has a low pKa ensuring that it is ionized to the sulfonate at the pH's found in the intestinal tract. Synthetic taurine is obtained by the ammonolysis of isethionic acid, which in turn is obtained from the reaction of ethylene oxide with aqueous sodium bisulfite.

A direct approach involves the reaction of aziridine with sulfurous acid. In 1993, about 5,000–6,000 tons of taurine were produced for commercial purposes: 50% for pet food and 50% in pharmaceutical applications; as of 2010, China alone has more than 40 manufacturers of taurine. Most of these enterprises employ the ethanolamine method to produce a total annual production of about 3,000 tons. In the laboratory taurine can be produced by alkylation of ammonia with bromoethanesulfonate salts. Taurine is derived from cysteine. Mammalian taurine synthesis occurs in the pancreas via the cysteine sulfinic acid pathway. In this pathway, cysteine is first oxidized to its sulfinic acid, catalyzed by the enzyme cysteine dioxygenase. Cysteine sulfinic acid, in turn, is decarboxylated by sulfinoalanine decarboxylase to form hypotaurine. Hypotaurine is enzymatically oxidized to yield taurine by hypotaurine dehydrogenase. Taurine is produced by the transsulfuration pathway, which converts homocysteine into cystathionine.

The cystathionine is converted to hypotaurine by the sequential action of three enzymes: cystathionine gamma-lyase, cysteine dioxygenase, cysteine sulfinic acid decarboxylase. Hypotaurine is oxidized to taurine as described above. Oxidative degradation of cysteine to taurine Taurine occurs in fish and meat; the mean daily intake from omnivore diets was determined to be around 58 mg and to be low or negligible from a strict vegan diet. In another study, taurine intake was estimated to be less than 200 mg/day in individuals eating a high-meat diet. According to a third study, taurine consumption was estimated to vary between 400 mg/day; the availability of taurine is affected depending on how the food is prepared, with raw diets retaining the most taurine, baking or boiling resulting in the greatest taurine loss. Taurine levels were found to be lower in vegans than in a control group on a standard American diet. Plasma taurine was 78% of control values, urinary taurine was 29%. Prematurely born infants are believed to lack the enzymes needed to convert cystathionine to cysteine, may, become deficient in taurine.

Taurine is present in breast milk, has been added to many infant formulas, as a measure of prudence, since the early 1980s. However, this practice has never been rigorously studied, as such it has yet to be proven to be necessary, or beneficial. Taurine is an ingredient in energy drinks. Many contain 1000 mg per serving, some as much as 2000 mg; the addition of taurine is used as a nervous system depressant. Taurine is essential for cardiovascular function and development and function of skeletal muscle, the retina, the central nervous system, it is a biosynthetic precursor to the bile salts sodium taurochenodeoxycholate and sodium taurocholate. Taurine functions as an antioxidant, suppressing the toxicity of hypochlorite and hypobromite produced physiologically. Taurine reacts with these halogenating agents to form N-chloro- and N-bromotaurine, which are less toxic than their precursors hypohalides. Taurine has been shown to reduce the secretion of apolipoprotein B100 and lipids in HepG2 cells.

High concentrations of serum lipids and apolipoprotein B100 are major risk factors of atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Hence, taurine supplementation is beneficial for the prevention of these diseases. Taurine is necessary for normal skeletal muscle functioning. Mice with a genetic taurine deficiency had a nearly complete depletion of skeletal and cardiac muscle taurine levels and a reduction of more than 80% of exercise capacity compared to control mice. Taurine can influence defects in nerve blood flow, motor nerve conduction velocity, nerve sensory thresholds in experimental diabetic neuropathic rats. Taurine crosses the blood–brain barrier and has been implicated in a wide array of physiological phenomena including inhibitory neurotransmission, long-term potentiation in the striatum/hippocampus, membrane stabilization, feedback inhibition of neutrophil/macrophage respiratory burst, adipose tissue regulation and possible prevention of obesity, calcium homeostasis, recovery from osmotic shock, protection against glutamate excitotoxicity, prevention of epileptic seizures.

According to the single study on human subjects, daily administration of 1.5 g of taurine had no significant effect on insulin secretion or insulin sensitivity. There is evidence that taurine may exert a beneficial effect in preventi

Derek Lidow is a New Jersey-based author, entrepreneur, former CEO and founder of iSuppli, former CEO of International Rectifier. Lidow is author of the book Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises, he is a media commentator. Lidow's book and speeches cover topics on entrepreneurship, startups and creativity, he joined Princeton university's Keller Center as the James Wei Visiting Professor in Entrepreneurship for the academic year 2011-2012, where he teaches a course titled "Innovation and Design". Lidow holds degrees from Stanford, he received his BSE summa cum laude from Princeton University in 1973, a PhD in applied physics as a Hertz Foundation Fellow at Stanford University in 1976. In 1977 Lidow began a 22-year career at International Rectifier, founded by his grandfather and his father Eric Lidow in 1947, as a Production Engineer, he served as Vice President of Operations, was promoted in 1985 to Executive Vice President for Marketing and Administration.

Lidow became President of International Rectifier’s Power Products Division in 1989, was elected to the Board of Directors in 1994. In March 1995, Mr. Lidow replaced his father as the Chief Executive Officer, serving alongside his brother Alex Lidow who remained CEO until 2007. After leaving International Rectifier, Lidow founded iSuppli in 1999, a market research firm sold to global information company IHS in 2010 for $95 million. Lidow is a member of the Board of Directors for United Silicon Carbide Inc. a technology company. Lidow is cited as an expert on the electronics industry, his contributions range from multiple technology patents to supply chain applications used by companies like Sony, Philips, Goldman Sachs and IBM. Today, Lidow is a professor of Entrepreneurial Leadership at Princeton University. Lidow is author of the book Startup Leadership: How Savvy Entrepreneurs Turn Their Ideas Into Successful Enterprises. In addition, his writing has been published in numerous blogs and publications, both off.

He is author of Building on Bedrock: What Sam Walton, Walt Disney, Other Great Self-Made Entrepreneurs Can Teach Us About Building Valuable Companies. Board of Directors of iSuppli Corporation, 1999 – 2011 Board of Directors of International Rectifier Corporation, circa 1991 – 2000 Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, circa 1994 – 1999 Princeton University Department of Electrical Engineering Advisory Council, circa 1975 – circa 1996 Princeton University School of Engineering and Applied Science Leadership Council, circa 1997 – 2011 United Silicon Carbide, 2012–present Hertz Fellow, 1973-1976 Computerworld Smithsonian Finalist, 1994

University College of Bahrain is a private university located in Bahrain established in 2002. The University offers Programs in Business administration, Information Technology, Graphic Design in addition to programs at Graduate level UCB is accredited and licensed by the Ministry of Education, UCB receives academic support from the Regional External Programs / American University of Beirut. B. Sc. in Accounting B. Sc. in Finance B. Sc. in Islamic finance B. Sc. in Engineering Management B. Sc. in Management B. Sc. in Marketing B. Sc. in MIS B. Sc. in Software Development B. Sc. in Computer Science B. Sc. in Graphic Design B. Sc. in Multimedia B. Sc. in Public Relations Evening MBA Executive Development MBA Islamic Finance Sh. Dr. Khalid Bin Mohammed Al Khalifa Sh. Saeeda A. Al Khalifa Sh. Ebrahim Bin Khalid Al Khalifa Sh. Ali Bin Khalid Al Khalifa Instructor Web Blackboard Learning System University Library Guide UCB Student Information System UCB Mail The UCB students forum. UCB Alumni Registration Become a UCB fan Follow UCB on Twitter