Oolong, black and pu-erh tea suppresses adiposity in mice via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase

Abstract

It is well known that tea has a variety of beneficial impacts on human health, including anti-obesity effects. It is well documented that green tea and its constituent catechins suppress obesity, but the effects of other types of tea on obesity and the potential mechanisms involved are not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated the suppression of adiposity by oolong, black and pu-erh tea and characterized the underlying molecular mechanism in vivo. We found that the consumption of oolong, black or pu-erh tea for a period of one week significantly decreased visceral fat without affecting body weight in male ICR mice. On a mechanistic level, the consumption of tea enhanced the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in white adipose tissue (WAT). This was accompanied by the induction of WAT protein levels of uncoupling protein 1 and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1. Our results indicate that oolong, black and pu-erh tea, and in particular, black tea, suppresses adiposity via phosphorylation of the key metabolic regulator AMPK and increases browning of WAT.

Oxidized tea polyphenols prevent lipid accumulation in liver and visceral white adipose tissue in rats

“…These results suggest that OTPs accelerated the metabolism of fatty acids in white adipose tissue. Previous studies have also found that consuming oolong tea (partially oxidized), black tea (full oxidized) and Pu-erh tea (oxidized and fermented) significantly decreased visceral fat levels without changing the body weight in mice [27,30]. These studies found that oolong tea, black tea and Puerh tea suppressed adiposity by activating AMPK.…”

“…Compared with the results of previous studies, the inconsistency observed here might have been caused by the lower dose of OTPs or the shorter treatment time in our study. Most of the previous associated studies treated animals with Pu-erh tea extract for 8-12 weeks [27,28,30]. However, in our study, the rats were fed a high-fat diet containing OTPs for approximately 6 weeks.…”

Mechanisms of body weight reduction and metabolic syndrome alleviation by tea

“…Treatment with extracts of Oolong, black, or Pu-erh tea (in drinking fluid, similar to the experiment described above) was shown to activate AMPK in white adipose tissues [8]. Dietary supplementation of EGCG (0.2 or 0.5% in high-fat diet) to mice for 8 wk significantly decreased the mRNA levels of adipogenic genes, such as those for PPAR␥, CCAAT enhancer binding protein ␣, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c, lipoprotein lipase, and FAS in the epididymal white adipose tissues.…”

“…. The activation of AMPK by EGCG and different types of teas has been demonstrated in vivo and in vitro . It has been shown that at 1, 3, and 6 h after i.g.…”

It’s all in your gut and mind

“…And if all of the above is too much to take in, then without burning more neurons over this subject, one can be more practical and have a good jog followed up by a cup of black tea and a croissant, which is so much more pleasant (Wu et al 2014;Yamashita et al 2014) and simple delegate your intestines to work on the issue (Fang et al 2015;Mossenbock et al 2014).…”