Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid

[01dragonslayer]

TUDCA is a water soluble bile acid. It shows great potency in treating cholestasis (bile acid backup in the liver) as the water soluble bile acids counteract the toxicity of regular bile acids. Can also protect and rehabilitate the liver, and general protects cells; very promising molecule.​

Our evidence-based analysis on tauroursodeoxycholic acid features 77 unique references to scientific papers.

Research analysis led by Kamal Patel and reviewed by the Examine team.
Last Updated: Feb 1, 2021

Summary of Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid​

Primary information, health benefits, side effects, usage, and other important details​

Tauroursodeoxycholic acid, more commonly referred to as TUDCA, is a bile salt that is found natrually occurring in the body. When regular bile salts reach the intestines, they can be metabolized by bacteria into UDCA and then later bound to a taurine molecule to become TUDCA.
TUDCA is a water-soluble bile salt, which is in contrast to regular bile salts possessing both water soluble and fat soluble ends and conferring a detergent effect. This is good for the bile salt's biological purpose (emulsifying fats in the intestines to help with absorption) but when bile acids back up in the liver, a clinical state called cholestasis which occurs when the liver is unhealthy, these bile salts can be damaging to cells by destroying the membranes and signalling for cell death. TUDCA and other water soluble bile salts like UDCA compete with this toxicity and thus indirectly protect cells from death.
Additionally, it seems that TUDCA is able to reduce stress to any cell's Endoplasmic Reticulum; an organelle in cells that serves as a highway from the nucleus out into the cytoplasm, and aids in folding proteins. Through reducing ER stress, TUDCA has been implicated in a wide range of beneficial metabolic effects such as reducing insulin resistance and diabetes, and being a neurological protection agent. However, usages of TUDCA beyond the liver are preliminary whereas usage of TUDCA for helping an already harmed liver is quite reliable as TUDCA is used in clinical settings (hospitals) for treating cholestasis.

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Guidance from the experts​

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How to Take​

Recommended dosage, active amounts, other details​

10-13mg daily has once been shown to improve liver regenesis rates in a clinically ill population, and may be the lowest estimate of an active oral dose. When looking at improving bile salt composition, a dose around 15-20mg/kg bodyweight TUDCA seems best according to one study.
Benefits have been seen at 1,750mg daily for muscle and liver insulin sensitivity, which is the highest dose used for treatment of fatty liver disease.

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Human Effect Matrix​

Unlocked for Examine Members

The Human Effect Matrix summarizes human studies to tell you what effects Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid has on your body, how much evidence there is, and how strong these effects are.
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GRADE	LEVEL OF EVIDENCE[show legend]

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE ?	OUTCOME	MAGNITUDE OF EFFECT ?	CONSISTENCY OF RESEARCH RESULTS ?	NOTES
	Liver Enzymes	Notable	Very HighSee all 5 studies	The decrease in liver enzymes associated with cholestasis is quite strong, and TUDCA is a reference drug for these effects
	Cholestasis	Notable	-See study	Is either comparable or exceeds the potency of ursodeoxycholic acid, the reference drug for cholestasis
	Insulin Sensitivity	Notable	-See study	Notable due to reaching near 30% improvement in obese persons and only being localized to muscle tissue and the liver, but not adipose tissue
	Blood glucose	-	-See study	No significant influence on fasting glucose levels
	Body Fat	-	-See study	No significant influence on fat mass in obese persons
	Insulin	-	-See study	No significant influence on fasting insulin levels
	Weight	-	-See study	No significant influence on weight in obese persons
	High-density lipoprotein (HDL)	Minor	-See study	A decrease in HDL-C has been noted to be secondary to treating cholestasis
	Liver Cell Content	Minor	-See study	An increase in hepatocyte regeneration has been noted with TUDCA in persons with liver disease
	Total cholesterol	Minor	-See study	A decrease in total cholesterol in serum has been noted secondary to treating cholestasis

Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid Supplement — Health Benefits, Dosage, Side Effects

TUDCA is a water soluble bile acid. It shows great potency in treating cholestasis (bile acid backup in the liver) as the water soluble bile acids counteract the toxicity of regular bile acids. Can also protect and rehabilitate the liver, and general protects cells; very promising molecule.

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