LEAD
Action News vol 10 no 2, June 2010, ISSN 1324-6011
Incorporating Lead Aware Times ( ISSN 1440-4966) and Lead Advisory Service
News (ISSN 1440-0561)
The Journal of The LEAD (Lead Education and Abatement Design) Group Inc.
Vitamin B6 and Taurine
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), along with cysteine, is used to manufacture the
amino acid taurine in the body, though taurine is found in food and can be
absorbed in its own right. Vitamin B6 may be able to reduce lead uptake on
a cellular level and reduce cytotoxicty (cell toxicity) and increase lead
excretion. Taurine has been shown to significantly reduce and possibly
repair some lead damage to organs in animal experiments, particularly the
brain. Vitamin B6 has no known impact on lead-induced brain damage.
Taurine appears not to significantly influence lead absorption or
excretion. Taurine can also reduce hypertension, including lead-induced
hypertension. Taurine improves the body’s retention of magnesium, which
can also reduce hypertension.
Taurine:
the above items are high in Taurine or Vitamin B6 Back Row:
Meat, energy drinks, milk, yogurt, cheese Front row: Eggs,
sardines, salmon, haddock. Not pictured: sea weed
Taking more than 200 mg
of vitamin B6 supplements can result in sensory neuropathy (pain and
numbness), although no similar finding have been made for food consumption
possibly due to the existence of three types of B6. The US Food and
Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends no more than 100
mg per day be taken. Taurine has no known toxicty and is readily excreted.
Vitamin B6 is found in
yeast, vegemite, dill weed, wheat germ or bran, pistachio nuts, garlic,
frog legs, curry powder, fish (tuna, salmon, garfish), liver (ox, chicken,
duck), seeds (sesame, linseed), breakfast cereals, and while bananas and
potatoes have lower levels they can impact on B6 levels because on the
quanties consumed. Vitamin B6 content is significantly reduced by cooking
or processing. Taurine is found in high quanties in meat, fish, eggs,
dairy products and some energy drinks. For vegans certain seaweeds are the
only vegetable source of taurine, vegans tend to have low taurine levels.
Taurine:
a conditionally essential amino acid in humans? An overview in health
and disease R. Lourenço and M. E. Camilo Nutr. Hosp. (2002) XVII (6)
262-270 www.grupoaulamedica.com/web/nutricion/pdf/062002/02_Taurine.pdf
[A good, easy to follow, if somewhat technical outline of the role of
taurine. Those wishing a short introduction may prefer the Wikipedia
entry.]
Taurine Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taurine [Effective outline on
the role of taurine, more up to date than the previous article,
shorter but not as easy to read]
There's A Pill For
That I: Taurine Melissa McEwan Hunt Gather Love posted 26/3/2010 http://huntgatherlove.com/content/theres-pill-i-taurine
[an exploration of the possibility of taurine deficiency, even though
it is manufactured inside the body]
Testing of chelating
agents and vitamins against lead toxicity using mammalian cell
cultures Anna B. Fischer, Cristine Hess, Tilo Neubauer and Thomas
Eikmann Analyst, January 1998, Vol. 123 (55-58) www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=a705518h&
JournalCode=AN [Found that in cell cultures B6 inhibits
lead uptake on a cellular level and reduces cytotoxicity]
Antioxidant Effect of
Taurine Against Lead-Induced Oxidative Stress H. Gürer, H. Özgünes,
E. Saygin and N. Ercal Arch of Env Cont Tox Vol 41, No 4 Nov, 2001 www.springerlink.com/content/8dckmhb9ur01tgdh/
[Finds that taurine has no impact on blood lead but did have
neurologically protective properties]
SimSun">Influences
of different developmental periods of taurine supplements
on synaptic plasticity in hippocampal CA1 area of rats following
prenatal and perinatal lead exposure Shan-Shan Yu, Ming Wang, Xin-Mei
Li, Wei-Heng Chen, Ju-Tao Chen, Hui-Li Wang and Di-Yun Ruan BMC
Developmental Biology 2007, 7:51doi www.biomedcentral.com/1471-213X/7/51 [Demonstrates the
importance of taurine to brain development if lead exposure occurs]
Selection of
Nutrients for Prevention or Amelioration of Lead-Induced Learning and
Memory Impairment in Rats Guangqin Fan, Chang Feng, Yu Li, C Wang, J
Yan, W Li, J Feng, X Shi and Y Bi Annals of Occup Hygiene 2009
53(4):341-351 http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/53/4/341
[Shows that in combination with methionine, taurine can protect
against lead-induced brain
damage, while taurine can also repair some lead-damaged memory and
learning functions]