Post by josiesmom on Feb 1, 2009 4:10:16 GMT -5
Hi all,
Taurine is more than just a buzz word used in markeing kibble - it is an essential amino acid for all carnivores that has a big job to do. Taurine is used by neural pathways so it is very important for brain function, as well as muscle communication. It binds with Retinol which is essential for good eye health. It conjugates with bile that is needed for fat digestion.
But Taurine is not metabolized by the body, and it doesn't get stored as protein in the body for use later. It is used on demand, during demand and what is excess at the time is excreted in the urine. Taurine is absorbed via bacterial digestion in the small intestine. Taurine's absorption rate is not as high as other Amino Acids.
So you can see why it becomes important to offer your ferrets adequate Taurine on a daily basis. the good thing is that you cannot overdose Taurine, so offering your ferrets several items high in Taurine cannot hurt them.
Items high in Taurine are of course: dark meats, like chicken and turkey hearts, chicken legs and thighs, many red meats and invertebrates and insect larvae!
I give my ferrets at least one chicken heart or a section of turkey heart every day and one to three times a week they get Superworms (Zophobas Morio). This is in addition of course to their regular offerings of raw or whole prey.
Freezing degrades Taurine ( I'm still trying to locate by what percentage) as does cooking (which degrades it more than freezing), so they likely get more available Taurine from the Super worms than they do the chicken hearts, but they like the hearts better.
For more specifics check out the links and read the scientific papers!
At cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17828434 it is noted:
“Taurine transport undergoes an adaptive response to changes in taurine availability. Unlike most amino acids, taurine is not metabolized or incorporated into protein but remains free in the intracellular water. Most amino acids are reabsorbed at rates of 98-99%, but reabsorption of taurine may range from 40% to 99.5%.”
Effect of Processing on Fate of Dietary Taurine in Cats:
jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/120/9/995.pdf compares cooked and frozen diets fed to cats.
Huxtable notes: www.serve.com/BatonRouge/taurine_chmr.htm (this page goes into great detail and breakdowns of Taurine from various sources.) They show Taurine contents in foods: and that Insects are noted as being high in Taurine . Also that Dark meat of chicken is High in Taurine.
In “Comparative Animal Biolchemistry”, By Klaus Urich, pg 423. It is noted that many insect larvae are high in Taurine.
This would be another excellent reason to offer ferrets whole prey like “Super worms, Crickets and other edible insects. These can be offered live, or pre-killed. My ferrets like them live.
And: at: www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-7f.shtml
Taurine: selected functions and interactions
Taurine is a very important amino acid involved in a large number of metabolic processes. Huxtable provides a lengthy list of the biological functions provided by taurine [1992, Table 1, p. 102].
Taurine is important in the visual pathways, the brain and nervous system, cardiac function, and it is a conjugator of bile acids. Another important function of taurine is as a detoxifier. Gaull [1986, p. 123] notes:
Retinol [vitamin A] in excess amounts, i.e., unbound to retinol-binding protein, can act as a poison. When the long-term lymphoid cell lines are exposed to 10 mc M retinol, their viability decreases strikingly over a 90-minute period [18]. Addition of zinc improves the viability slightly. Further addition of taurine protects the cells even more. If a combination of zinc and taurine is added, there is a striking protective effect...
Note that the above suggests that taurine and zinc, both found in animal foods, provide protection from excess vitamin A--a vitamin found in full form only in animal foods. This is an interesting synergism, to say the least.
Yet another zinc/taurine interaction is mentioned by Huxtable [1992, p. 129]:
Zinc is another metal ion with which taurine interacts. Zinc deficiency leads to increased excretion of taurine (277).
Inasmuch as zinc is a mineral in relatively low supply (in terms of quantities and/or bioavailability) in raw/vegan diets, the above raises interesting questions of the possibility of yet another zinc/taurine synergism.
Raw dark meat of chicken is high in Zinc AND Taurine!
Since Taurine is not metabolized by the body but used from what is in fluid suspension so to speak, it becomes apparent that ferrets need regular quality amounts of Taurine. Cooking degrades Taurine, as does Freezing. Taurine is NOT available in significant amounts from plant sources, BUT IS available in high amounts from dark meats and insects. In order to gain the most benefit from Taurine the body must also have sufficient quantities of Zinc – this too is in high amounts in raw chicken and other muscle meats. So a natural diet offering chicken or turkey hearts as well as dark meat and insects should offer the ferret sufficient Taurine to keep their eyes, heart and brain functioning properly!
My ferrets get one to two chicken hearts per day, in addition to their variety of raw meaty bones, or whole prey and one to three times a week they get some insects!
go here for a nutrient evaluation of 1 Raw chicken heart: (Taurine level is not shown, but it has an Amino acid score of 146 which is high. Note too the zinc levels!):
www.nutritiondata.com/facts/poultry-products/664/2
Cheers, Kim
Taurine is more than just a buzz word used in markeing kibble - it is an essential amino acid for all carnivores that has a big job to do. Taurine is used by neural pathways so it is very important for brain function, as well as muscle communication. It binds with Retinol which is essential for good eye health. It conjugates with bile that is needed for fat digestion.
But Taurine is not metabolized by the body, and it doesn't get stored as protein in the body for use later. It is used on demand, during demand and what is excess at the time is excreted in the urine. Taurine is absorbed via bacterial digestion in the small intestine. Taurine's absorption rate is not as high as other Amino Acids.
So you can see why it becomes important to offer your ferrets adequate Taurine on a daily basis. the good thing is that you cannot overdose Taurine, so offering your ferrets several items high in Taurine cannot hurt them.
Items high in Taurine are of course: dark meats, like chicken and turkey hearts, chicken legs and thighs, many red meats and invertebrates and insect larvae!
I give my ferrets at least one chicken heart or a section of turkey heart every day and one to three times a week they get Superworms (Zophobas Morio). This is in addition of course to their regular offerings of raw or whole prey.
Freezing degrades Taurine ( I'm still trying to locate by what percentage) as does cooking (which degrades it more than freezing), so they likely get more available Taurine from the Super worms than they do the chicken hearts, but they like the hearts better.
For more specifics check out the links and read the scientific papers!
At cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=17828434 it is noted:
“Taurine transport undergoes an adaptive response to changes in taurine availability. Unlike most amino acids, taurine is not metabolized or incorporated into protein but remains free in the intracellular water. Most amino acids are reabsorbed at rates of 98-99%, but reabsorption of taurine may range from 40% to 99.5%.”
Effect of Processing on Fate of Dietary Taurine in Cats:
jn.nutrition.org/cgi/reprint/120/9/995.pdf compares cooked and frozen diets fed to cats.
Huxtable notes: www.serve.com/BatonRouge/taurine_chmr.htm (this page goes into great detail and breakdowns of Taurine from various sources.) They show Taurine contents in foods: and that Insects are noted as being high in Taurine . Also that Dark meat of chicken is High in Taurine.
In “Comparative Animal Biolchemistry”, By Klaus Urich, pg 423. It is noted that many insect larvae are high in Taurine.
This would be another excellent reason to offer ferrets whole prey like “Super worms, Crickets and other edible insects. These can be offered live, or pre-killed. My ferrets like them live.
And: at: www.beyondveg.com/billings-t/comp-anat/comp-anat-7f.shtml
Taurine: selected functions and interactions
Taurine is a very important amino acid involved in a large number of metabolic processes. Huxtable provides a lengthy list of the biological functions provided by taurine [1992, Table 1, p. 102].
Taurine is important in the visual pathways, the brain and nervous system, cardiac function, and it is a conjugator of bile acids. Another important function of taurine is as a detoxifier. Gaull [1986, p. 123] notes:
Retinol [vitamin A] in excess amounts, i.e., unbound to retinol-binding protein, can act as a poison. When the long-term lymphoid cell lines are exposed to 10 mc M retinol, their viability decreases strikingly over a 90-minute period [18]. Addition of zinc improves the viability slightly. Further addition of taurine protects the cells even more. If a combination of zinc and taurine is added, there is a striking protective effect...
Note that the above suggests that taurine and zinc, both found in animal foods, provide protection from excess vitamin A--a vitamin found in full form only in animal foods. This is an interesting synergism, to say the least.
Yet another zinc/taurine interaction is mentioned by Huxtable [1992, p. 129]:
Zinc is another metal ion with which taurine interacts. Zinc deficiency leads to increased excretion of taurine (277).
Inasmuch as zinc is a mineral in relatively low supply (in terms of quantities and/or bioavailability) in raw/vegan diets, the above raises interesting questions of the possibility of yet another zinc/taurine synergism.
Raw dark meat of chicken is high in Zinc AND Taurine!
Since Taurine is not metabolized by the body but used from what is in fluid suspension so to speak, it becomes apparent that ferrets need regular quality amounts of Taurine. Cooking degrades Taurine, as does Freezing. Taurine is NOT available in significant amounts from plant sources, BUT IS available in high amounts from dark meats and insects. In order to gain the most benefit from Taurine the body must also have sufficient quantities of Zinc – this too is in high amounts in raw chicken and other muscle meats. So a natural diet offering chicken or turkey hearts as well as dark meat and insects should offer the ferret sufficient Taurine to keep their eyes, heart and brain functioning properly!
My ferrets get one to two chicken hearts per day, in addition to their variety of raw meaty bones, or whole prey and one to three times a week they get some insects!
go here for a nutrient evaluation of 1 Raw chicken heart: (Taurine level is not shown, but it has an Amino acid score of 146 which is high. Note too the zinc levels!):
www.nutritiondata.com/facts/poultry-products/664/2
Cheers, Kim
