F. Turano, J. Jenkins, K. Turano, D. Preuss
Nataur Inc., Maryland, United States
Keywords: bioindustrial manufacturing, fermentation, taurine, domestic supply chain, warfighter readiness
Taurine is a functional nutrient supporting muscle, cardiac, gut, cognitive, and immune health. U.S. service members constitute a high-consumption population, with energy beverages containing taurine widely used by deployed and combat personnel. The current supply chain presents a significant national-security vulnerability with more than 90% of global taurine manufactured in China using petrochemical processes, and independent third-party testing detecting heavy metals and ethylene oxide, a known human carcinogen, in petrochemical taurine samples. Natáur has developed a domestic biological process for taurine production through four years of research supported in part by USDA/NIFA SBIR Phase I and Phase II awards. Its microbial fermentation platform produces taurine >99.5% purity, with heavy metals below detection limits, and no detectable ethylene oxide. Natáur’s process has succeeded at bench and early pilot scale, and is ready to advance to commercial scale, establishing a traceable domestic taurine source that eliminates U.S. dependence on Chinese petrochemical manufacturing, strengthens domestic bioindustrial capacity, and provides a high-purity ingredient relevant to warfighter nutrition and readiness. Natáur’s platform, supported by five issued patents and six pending applications, also addresses broad commercial markets including energy beverages, sports nutrition, dietary supplements, infant formula, pharmaceuticals, clinical nutrition, pet nutrition, and personal-care products.