Abstract

Taurine is a type of sulfur-containing amino acid having a sulfate functional group, that is biosynthesized from cyste- ine. It is mainly distributed in high concentrations in animal tissues and is known to have various effects such as osmotic pres- sure control, calcium control, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and hepatocellular protection. Also, taurine deficiency causes a variety of symptoms, including visual impairment. In particular, in the case of cats, taurine is not biosynthesized and must be supplied through food, so it is classified as an essential amino acid. In this study, an analysis method using mass spectrometry was developed instead of the commonly used derivatization method to quickly, environmentally, and precisely analyze taurine in various animal feeds. The developed analytical method showed good linearity (R 2 > 0.99), accuracy (81.97-105.78%), and pre- cision (0.07-12.37%). In addition, the developed method was further verified through quantitative comparison with the derivat- ization method. This developed method was used in the determination of taurine in 20 animal feed samples obtained from South Korea. The levels of taurine found ranged from 81.53 to 6,743.53 mg/kg. The developed analysis method will be used for the detection and quantification of taurine in domestic feed.