Taurine and Nitrate Supplementation on Thermoregulatory in T2DM

Summary

Anthropogenic warming is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme heat events. Elevated temperatures raise the risk of mortality and hospital admissions, particularly among people with chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Globally, around 530 million people live with T2DM , and in the United Kingdom nearly six million are affected, creating a substantial population vulnerable to heat related illness.

People with T2DM are at heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, which can impair cardiac output, a key component of thermoregulation, as it supports increased skin blood flow for heat dissipation. T2DM also attenuates eccrine sweat gland function, peripheral vasodilation, reducing evaporative cooling capacity. These physiological constraints highlight the need for effective strategies to improve heat tolerance in this group.

Recent evidence shows that exogenous taurine supplementation can enhance sweating in healthy individuals, potentially improving heat loss. This study will examine whether acute taurine supplementation, alone or combined with beetroot, can limit rises in core temperature in people with T2DM during an acute extreme heat exposure.

Conditions

• Type 2 Diabetes

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

taurine

The taurine supplement will be administered as a 5g (100% taurine powder, myprotein, UK) dose. To taste match the beetroot arm we will use a nitrate depleted powder. The placebo contained 1.6% nitrate (180 mg nitrate; Bio-gen Extracts Private Limited, Karnataka, India). The servings contained 13.33g of nitrate depleted beetroot powder. The remaining 6.67g comprised a sweetener (stevia), flavour (watermelon) and flavouring agents (malic \& citric acid). The beetroot powders were prepared by manipulating the processing control parameters (extraction time and temperature) during extract preparation to ensure precise nitrate concentration across the different conditions, particularly for the placebo. Specifically, raw beetroot was extracted with water for 1 h at \>90°C with the residue obtained from the first extraction processed to obtain the low nitrate grade material. The NO3- content of beetroot powders were determined by treating the samples with a salicylic acid-sulphuric acid mixture,

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Beetroot and taurine

20g of formulated beetroot power containing \~6% nitrate (800mg NO3-; TruBeet; Bio-gen Extracts Private Limited). The servings contained 13.33g of the formulated beetroot powder. The remaining 6.67g comprised a sweetener (stevia), flavour (watermelon) and flavouring agents (malic \& citric acid) and 5g (100% taurine powder, myprotein, UK) of taurine will also be added to 305mL water prior to ingestion.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo

Placebo will include the 20g nitrate placebo from above and 5g of maltodextrin (100% Maltodextrin Carbs, myprotein, UK) which will also be added to 305 mL water.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Swansea University

  collaborator OTHER

• Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Southampton

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Portsmouth

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

TRIPLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

35 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-06-01

Primary Completion

2028-04-01

Completion

2028-04-01