Effects of Taurine Supplementation on Adipose Tissue of Obese Trained Rats

Physical exercise is related to the decrease in body fat mass, while taurine supplementation can increase energy expenditure and the function of lipolytic enzymes and may decrease adipocyte size, reflecting an improvement from obesity treatment. However, a possible additive effect of physical exercise and taurine supplementation on white adipose tissue has not been investigated. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of taurine supplementation on adipose tissue of trained obese rats. Male Wistar rats were fed with control or high-fat diet to induce obesity during 11 weeks and were divided into four groups: sedentary (SD); sedentary and taurine supplemented (SDTAU; supplemented with taurine after 3 weeks of high-fat diet diet); trained (TR; initiated the training program after 3 weeks of high-fat diet); trained and taurine supplemented (TRTAU; initiated the taurine supplementation and the training program after 3 weeks of high-fat diet). The animals were submitted to exercise training for 8 weeks and performance was analyzed at the beginning of week 4 and at the end of week 11. The epididymal tissue was extracted and weighed before and after taurine supplementation. Adipocyte sizes were analyzed and computed tomography was used to evaluate total body area and visceral fat area.