Post by Deleted on May 12, 2014 12:47:26 GMT -5
I was searching for articles about Taurine. I wanted to learn a little more about its importance. I found this article and thought that it was very imformative: Credit to Mustelamania, ferret nutrition, news and love.
But… What is Taurine, Really?
We know cats and more than likely ferrets need taurine in their diets, but what really do we know about it?
Taurine, number one, is not an amino acid, though many people (even clinically) classify it as such – many clinicians, veterinarians, and pet food manufacturers will call it a “free amino”. All amino acids contain both an amine chain, and carboxylic acid, with an ending chain specific to that amino acid. So all the essential and non-essential aminos look, when chemically written out, similarly. Taurine, however, is an amine chain with a sulfonic acid chain instead of a carboxylic chain. This makes it slightly more acidic, number one, but also means it is utilized differently in the body. Unlike true amino acids, which are incorporated into proteins in the body, taurine is “free” and is easily transported through the body.
That said, taurine is an important nutrient. In mammalian herbivores and omnivores, the pancreas is the organ responsible for the biosynthesis of taurine. The pancreas does this by taking either the amino acid cysteine, or methionine, and chemically altering it using enzymes to remove the carboxylic acid and then replace it with sulfonic acid in the molecule chain. In humans and other mammals, this process happens with relative ease on the pancreas itself, and the newly formed taurine can then be utilized by the body. In obligate carnivores like all felids, taurine synthesis does not occur, and so they must ingest taurine via diet in order to maintain proper taurine levels in their bodies. Most biologists and veterinary professionals will agree that mustelids are most likely obligate carnivores, also, and thus require taurine in their diet.
Cats require anywhere from 35-250mg of taurine per day. The reason for the large range in necessity is complex: bioavailability of taurine depends directly on the level of digestibility of the proteins in the diet. This, and a diet high in carbohydrates supports a gut flora more likely to consume dietary taurine, making higher levels necessary in order to meet the body’s needs as well as the needs of the gut flora that are also utilizing taurine. Certain other issues such as irritable bowel seem to have an effect on how well cats absorb dietary taurine, so that should be considered for ferrets, as well. Because the caloric need of felines per day is pretty comparable to that of ferrets (a 4lb cat requires about 230 calories, a 2lb ferret, about 100-150,) one can assume the taurine needs per day is probably comparable. According to AAFCO Dry Matter Basis (DMB,) a cat’s daily taurine requirement is 0.10% for dry foods, and 0.20% for canned foods. The reason for the difference? Like the overall varying levels of necessity, the processes involved in the production of kibbles and cans creates bioavailability differences, as well as some of the plant ingredients included in canned foods seem to make taurine less available. So while a frozen raw food probably seems like it would be closer to the canned food requirement, it’s probably reasonable to assume that anywhere between 0.10 and 0.20% for raw diets is sufficient (because of bioavailability, digestibility, and overall degradation.)
Taurine is used by the body in many ways, most noteworthy in the maintenance of the retina (the light-sensitive membrane on the inner surface of the eye,) in cardiovascular function, and in the production of bile. It is found in all animal tissue in varying levels, because of it’s important role in maintaining cellular calcium homeostasis throughout the body. When feeding a raw diet to your ferrets, you can expect them to receive their taurine in largest concentrations from hearts, brains, and dark muscle meats like thighs. Because of the necessary nature of taurine for obligate carnivores, it is imperative that hearts are offered as a meal at least weekly, though many people include them in daily meals.
In terms of commercial raw foods: if a food item is labelled as “AAFCO Approved Complete and Balanced for Cats” then it by AAFCO definition needs to contain at least 0.10% DMB of taurine. In kibble, this requirement would more than likely be met using supplemented taurine, probably from Chinese sources. In raw foods, much of the time, this requirement is easily met and surpassed using nutritious muscle meats and hearts, and thus, taurine won’t be listed on the package at all.
This is important to note because I see a good number of folks panicking when they look over their Nature’s Variety or other raw food packaging, and don’t see any taurine listed on the ingredient panel. Pet food manufacturers, by AAFCO definition, do not have to list taurine levels in foods, along with many other nutrients (yet another misleading truth about pet food!) . But, if the food is labelled as Complete and Balanced for Cats, you know that the taurine levels are adequate for a carnivore (and more than likely far exceeding AAFCO standards.)
Here are the taurine contents of some popular commercial frozen raw foods, just to get an idea: All Nature’s Variety except for Bison and Rabbit (includes Chicken, Organic Chicken, Beef, Venison, Lamb and Duck) contain 0.064% DMB of taurine. Their Bison contains 0.03% and their Rabbit contains 0.04%. Primal’s Feline Frozen Formulas except for their Chicken and Salmon (including Beef and Salmon, Pheasant, Quail, Rabbit, Turkey, and Venison) all contain 0.14% taurine, where their Chicken and Salmon formula contains 0.20% taurine. Remember, 0.10% is what AAFCO believes is the minimum amount of taurine necessary, so all of the Nature’s Variety formulas are slightly low in taurine – however, if you are feeding a meal of hearts per week, or using NV products in a rotation with other raw foods, both frankenprey and/or commercial raw, you are still probably meeting their needs by the end of the week. Bravo! Raw Foods make four different formulas each with different protein sources and levels of completeness. The only of their line that is complete and balanced according to AAFCO for dogs and for cats, is their Bravo! Balance line. This line comes in Chicken, Turkey or Beef, in both chubs or in burgers. Their other lines, The Bravo! Blends, Bravo! Boneless, and Bravo! Basics have varying levels of taurine content depending on whether they include heart or not – in those instances, again, if you are feeding a varied diet and include thighs, hearts, brains, and/or whole prey in the diet, you are more than likely meeting their taurine needs, even if you aren’t meeting them with every single meal.Another fallacy I see circulating the ‘net in terms of taurine is degradation. Many seem to believe taurine is broken down and denatured to a monumental degree by freezing. This is, thankfully, not true – it is actually not affected by the freeze-thaw cycle at all. Taurine is, however, broken down by cooking and by long-term exposure to air (oxidation), so ground formulas tend to lose their taurine levels faster than whole foods. Since taurine is water soluble, thawing out a frozen item can thus leach the taurine into the runoff liquid (IE: blood) and if not added back into meals, can then result in loss of taurine fed. This is another reason why when feeding ground and commercial raw products, to remember to pour a bit of the bloody thaw-off back into the meals! There are important nutrients in there! In terms of freeze-dried products, the process of freeze-drying involves removing the liquid from an item, and so taurine is leached into the liquid and then evaporated off. In this way, freeze-dried products are less abundant in taurine than their frozen and fresh counterparts.
Taurine as a nutrient is water soluble and generally any excess is then excreted via urine. That said, there are preliminary studies in rats and humans that indicate omnivore species can experience alarming symptoms when given large amounts of supplemented taurine over time. Some of the symptoms included psychomotor inhibitions, induced psoriasis, and higher produced levels of various growth hormones. Whether these findings are indicative of toxicity or something else is unknown, and whether it is similar of our carnivorous friends or not, it’s hard to say – but it is something to think about.
Taurine in whole food form, found in muscle tissues, hearts, brains and other animal tissues, is in any case the ideal for any raw diet – and not a difficult nutrient to maintain proper levels of if offering the right variety. Supplementation of factory-synthesized taurine is a possibility in extreme cases but be sure to choose a supplement of human-grade quality, from a trusted company and source. I know many people use the NOW brand of taurine powder. Do you need to suuplement 500mg per day? No, definitely not, not unless your ferret has a diagnosed heart condition that may benefit from higher than usual taurine levels. Aim for over a period of a week to give about 1400mg – which is 200mg per day if you want to balance it daily – but in reality, having it balanced with every meal is probably overkill.
To give some scale to the amounts of taurine your ferrets are probably consuming, here is the taurine content of some commonly-fed food items:
Chicken Breast: 260 mg/kg
Chicken Leg: 3780 mg/kg
Pork Meat: 1180 mg/kg
Pork Heart: 2000 mg/kg
Pork Kidney: 1200 mg/kg
Pork Liver: 420 mg/kg
Whole Quail: 95-280 mg/kg
Medium Egg: 350 mg
Sources used in writing this article:
1. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th Edition, by Hand, Thatcher, Remillard, and Roudebush
2. ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out22_en.html
3. maxshouse.com/nutrition/aafco_cat_food_nutrient_profiles.htm
4. www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/99294-taurine-cats-2.html
5. suppversity.blogspot.com/2010/08/taurine-from-foods-can-i-be-taurine.html
6. feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-much-taurine-should-i-add
7. www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmb/aal/pdfs/spitze.pdf
8. www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccah/local-assets/pdfs/Role_of_diet_feline%20health_Glasgow.pdf
9. www.livestocklibrary.com.au/bitstream/handle/1234/19925/187.PDF?sequence=1
10. biocor.umn.edu/assets/files/ANALYTE%20STABILITY%20&%20FREEZE-THAW%20INFORMATION-1.pdf
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But… What is Taurine, Really?
We know cats and more than likely ferrets need taurine in their diets, but what really do we know about it?
Taurine, number one, is not an amino acid, though many people (even clinically) classify it as such – many clinicians, veterinarians, and pet food manufacturers will call it a “free amino”. All amino acids contain both an amine chain, and carboxylic acid, with an ending chain specific to that amino acid. So all the essential and non-essential aminos look, when chemically written out, similarly. Taurine, however, is an amine chain with a sulfonic acid chain instead of a carboxylic chain. This makes it slightly more acidic, number one, but also means it is utilized differently in the body. Unlike true amino acids, which are incorporated into proteins in the body, taurine is “free” and is easily transported through the body.
That said, taurine is an important nutrient. In mammalian herbivores and omnivores, the pancreas is the organ responsible for the biosynthesis of taurine. The pancreas does this by taking either the amino acid cysteine, or methionine, and chemically altering it using enzymes to remove the carboxylic acid and then replace it with sulfonic acid in the molecule chain. In humans and other mammals, this process happens with relative ease on the pancreas itself, and the newly formed taurine can then be utilized by the body. In obligate carnivores like all felids, taurine synthesis does not occur, and so they must ingest taurine via diet in order to maintain proper taurine levels in their bodies. Most biologists and veterinary professionals will agree that mustelids are most likely obligate carnivores, also, and thus require taurine in their diet.
Cats require anywhere from 35-250mg of taurine per day. The reason for the large range in necessity is complex: bioavailability of taurine depends directly on the level of digestibility of the proteins in the diet. This, and a diet high in carbohydrates supports a gut flora more likely to consume dietary taurine, making higher levels necessary in order to meet the body’s needs as well as the needs of the gut flora that are also utilizing taurine. Certain other issues such as irritable bowel seem to have an effect on how well cats absorb dietary taurine, so that should be considered for ferrets, as well. Because the caloric need of felines per day is pretty comparable to that of ferrets (a 4lb cat requires about 230 calories, a 2lb ferret, about 100-150,) one can assume the taurine needs per day is probably comparable. According to AAFCO Dry Matter Basis (DMB,) a cat’s daily taurine requirement is 0.10% for dry foods, and 0.20% for canned foods. The reason for the difference? Like the overall varying levels of necessity, the processes involved in the production of kibbles and cans creates bioavailability differences, as well as some of the plant ingredients included in canned foods seem to make taurine less available. So while a frozen raw food probably seems like it would be closer to the canned food requirement, it’s probably reasonable to assume that anywhere between 0.10 and 0.20% for raw diets is sufficient (because of bioavailability, digestibility, and overall degradation.)
Taurine is used by the body in many ways, most noteworthy in the maintenance of the retina (the light-sensitive membrane on the inner surface of the eye,) in cardiovascular function, and in the production of bile. It is found in all animal tissue in varying levels, because of it’s important role in maintaining cellular calcium homeostasis throughout the body. When feeding a raw diet to your ferrets, you can expect them to receive their taurine in largest concentrations from hearts, brains, and dark muscle meats like thighs. Because of the necessary nature of taurine for obligate carnivores, it is imperative that hearts are offered as a meal at least weekly, though many people include them in daily meals.
In terms of commercial raw foods: if a food item is labelled as “AAFCO Approved Complete and Balanced for Cats” then it by AAFCO definition needs to contain at least 0.10% DMB of taurine. In kibble, this requirement would more than likely be met using supplemented taurine, probably from Chinese sources. In raw foods, much of the time, this requirement is easily met and surpassed using nutritious muscle meats and hearts, and thus, taurine won’t be listed on the package at all.
This is important to note because I see a good number of folks panicking when they look over their Nature’s Variety or other raw food packaging, and don’t see any taurine listed on the ingredient panel. Pet food manufacturers, by AAFCO definition, do not have to list taurine levels in foods, along with many other nutrients (yet another misleading truth about pet food!) . But, if the food is labelled as Complete and Balanced for Cats, you know that the taurine levels are adequate for a carnivore (and more than likely far exceeding AAFCO standards.)
Here are the taurine contents of some popular commercial frozen raw foods, just to get an idea: All Nature’s Variety except for Bison and Rabbit (includes Chicken, Organic Chicken, Beef, Venison, Lamb and Duck) contain 0.064% DMB of taurine. Their Bison contains 0.03% and their Rabbit contains 0.04%. Primal’s Feline Frozen Formulas except for their Chicken and Salmon (including Beef and Salmon, Pheasant, Quail, Rabbit, Turkey, and Venison) all contain 0.14% taurine, where their Chicken and Salmon formula contains 0.20% taurine. Remember, 0.10% is what AAFCO believes is the minimum amount of taurine necessary, so all of the Nature’s Variety formulas are slightly low in taurine – however, if you are feeding a meal of hearts per week, or using NV products in a rotation with other raw foods, both frankenprey and/or commercial raw, you are still probably meeting their needs by the end of the week. Bravo! Raw Foods make four different formulas each with different protein sources and levels of completeness. The only of their line that is complete and balanced according to AAFCO for dogs and for cats, is their Bravo! Balance line. This line comes in Chicken, Turkey or Beef, in both chubs or in burgers. Their other lines, The Bravo! Blends, Bravo! Boneless, and Bravo! Basics have varying levels of taurine content depending on whether they include heart or not – in those instances, again, if you are feeding a varied diet and include thighs, hearts, brains, and/or whole prey in the diet, you are more than likely meeting their taurine needs, even if you aren’t meeting them with every single meal.Another fallacy I see circulating the ‘net in terms of taurine is degradation. Many seem to believe taurine is broken down and denatured to a monumental degree by freezing. This is, thankfully, not true – it is actually not affected by the freeze-thaw cycle at all. Taurine is, however, broken down by cooking and by long-term exposure to air (oxidation), so ground formulas tend to lose their taurine levels faster than whole foods. Since taurine is water soluble, thawing out a frozen item can thus leach the taurine into the runoff liquid (IE: blood) and if not added back into meals, can then result in loss of taurine fed. This is another reason why when feeding ground and commercial raw products, to remember to pour a bit of the bloody thaw-off back into the meals! There are important nutrients in there! In terms of freeze-dried products, the process of freeze-drying involves removing the liquid from an item, and so taurine is leached into the liquid and then evaporated off. In this way, freeze-dried products are less abundant in taurine than their frozen and fresh counterparts.
Taurine as a nutrient is water soluble and generally any excess is then excreted via urine. That said, there are preliminary studies in rats and humans that indicate omnivore species can experience alarming symptoms when given large amounts of supplemented taurine over time. Some of the symptoms included psychomotor inhibitions, induced psoriasis, and higher produced levels of various growth hormones. Whether these findings are indicative of toxicity or something else is unknown, and whether it is similar of our carnivorous friends or not, it’s hard to say – but it is something to think about.
Taurine in whole food form, found in muscle tissues, hearts, brains and other animal tissues, is in any case the ideal for any raw diet – and not a difficult nutrient to maintain proper levels of if offering the right variety. Supplementation of factory-synthesized taurine is a possibility in extreme cases but be sure to choose a supplement of human-grade quality, from a trusted company and source. I know many people use the NOW brand of taurine powder. Do you need to suuplement 500mg per day? No, definitely not, not unless your ferret has a diagnosed heart condition that may benefit from higher than usual taurine levels. Aim for over a period of a week to give about 1400mg – which is 200mg per day if you want to balance it daily – but in reality, having it balanced with every meal is probably overkill.
To give some scale to the amounts of taurine your ferrets are probably consuming, here is the taurine content of some commonly-fed food items:
Chicken Breast: 260 mg/kg
Chicken Leg: 3780 mg/kg
Pork Meat: 1180 mg/kg
Pork Heart: 2000 mg/kg
Pork Kidney: 1200 mg/kg
Pork Liver: 420 mg/kg
Whole Quail: 95-280 mg/kg
Medium Egg: 350 mg
Sources used in writing this article:
1. Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, 4th Edition, by Hand, Thatcher, Remillard, and Roudebush
2. ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/out22_en.html
3. maxshouse.com/nutrition/aafco_cat_food_nutrient_profiles.htm
4. www.petforums.co.uk/cat-health-nutrition/99294-taurine-cats-2.html
5. suppversity.blogspot.com/2010/08/taurine-from-foods-can-i-be-taurine.html
6. feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-how-much-taurine-should-i-add
7. www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/vmb/aal/pdfs/spitze.pdf
8. www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/ccah/local-assets/pdfs/Role_of_diet_feline%20health_Glasgow.pdf
9. www.livestocklibrary.com.au/bitstream/handle/1234/19925/187.PDF?sequence=1
10. biocor.umn.edu/assets/files/ANALYTE%20STABILITY%20&%20FREEZE-THAW%20INFORMATION-1.pdf
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