It occurs as a sodium salt in the bile of mammals.

[1] Hydrolysis of taurocholic acid yields taurine.

For commercial use, taurocholic acid is manufactured from cattle bile, a byproduct of the meat-processing industry.

[2] This acid is also one of the many molecules in the body that has cholesterol as its precursor.

[citation needed] The median lethal dose of taurocholic acid in newborn rats is 380 mg/kg.