Taurine enhances voluntary alcohol intake and promotes anxiolytic-like behaviors in rats

• Published in: Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) Vol. 88; pp. 55 - 63
• Main Authors: Pulcinelli, Rianne Remus, de Paula, Leonardo Fernandes, Nietiedt, Natália Azuaga, Bandiera, Solange, Hansen, Alana Witt, Izolan, Lucas dos Reis, Almeida, Roberto Farina, Gomez, Rosane
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.11.2020; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; amino acid; Amino acids; Anxiety; Anxiolytics; Behavior; Camcorders; Dopamine; Dopamine receptors; drug addiction; energy drinks; Ethanol; Laboratory animals; Light; mesh-divided; Phenotypes; Saccharin; Taurine; Variance analysis; γ-Aminobutyric acid; Brazil; United States > US; Missouri; drug addiction; mesh-divided; energy drinks; amino acid; ethanol
• ISSN: 0741-8329; 1873-6823
• DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2020.07.004

Taurine is an amino acid usually added to energy drinks. In rodents, acute taurine administration decreases voluntary alcohol intake, and subchronic administration restores different behavioral features impaired by alcohol withdrawal. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of chronic taurine treatment on voluntary alcohol consumption and changes in behavioral parameters in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into two groups and were allowed to choose from two bottles containing 20% alcohol or 0.08% saccharin (vehicle solution), or two bottles containing vehicle, 24 h per day, for 5 weeks. After 3 weeks, rats received 100 mg/kg taurine (TAU) or saline (SAL) intraperitoneally once a day for 2 weeks, and daily alcohol consumption was monitored. On days 22 and 33, rats were tested in the open-field, and on day 34, they were exposed to the light/dark task (LDT). Our results show for the first time that chronic taurine treatment enhanced voluntary alcohol intake and preference in rats, and that these changes were accompanied by an anxiolytic-like phenotype in alcohol-treated rats, possibly due to its synergistic effect with alcohol on the dopaminergic and GABAergic systems. •Chronic taurine treatment enhances voluntary alcohol intake and preference in rats.•Voluntary alcohol intake increases from day 6 of taurine administrations.•Taurine promotes an anxiolytic-like phenotype in alcohol-treated rats.