Abstract
Rationale
Since energy drinks (EDs) were marketed to the general public as recreational and soft drinks, mixing these with alcohol has become a popular practice, especially in the younger population. Alcohol mixed with EDs (AmEDs) is a particularly alarming combination, given the evidence that consistently associate these drinks with increased risk behaviours and greater alcohol consumption. Caffeine and taurine are commonly found in EDs. In contrast to caffeine, the studies on taurine psychoactive properties and how this amino acid influences ethanol intake alone or in combination with caffeine are not so numerous.
Objectives
We summarised relevant and available data on the studies focusing on taurine as a psychoactive agent and its influence on ethanol (EtOH)-induced behaviours. Given the increased risk that represents mixing alcohol with energy drinks, we put emphasis on the research exploring the impact of these combinations on motivated behaviour towards EtOH consumption.
Results
The research on taurine properties on motivated behaviour towards EtOH consumption is limited, and mostly all done in combination with caffeine or other molecules. This makes it difficult to elucidate the effect of this amino acid when combined with alcohol.
Conclusions
Incomplete understanding of the properties and effects of AmEDs is unavoidable until more studies are performed on the influence of taurine on motivation to consume alcohol. Taurine should be further explored, particularly in regard to its potential beneficial applications, motivational properties and synergies with other psychoactive ingredients (i.e. caffeine).
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Funding
This work was supported by National Plan on Drug abuse, Ministerio de Sanidad of Spain (grant PNSD2018-050), the Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria (Red de Trastornos Adictivos, FEDER, RD16/0017/0008) and the Postdoctoral fellowship program of the Complutense University of Madrid (CT17/19). VEA holds a “Sara Borrell” research contract (CD17/00125) funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
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Tarragon, E., Calleja-Conde, J., Giné, E. et al. Alcohol mixed with energy drinks: what about taurine?. Psychopharmacology 238, 1–8 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05705-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-020-05705-7