Herbal Tea Essences (HTE) Ameliorate HFD-Induced Obesity

TL;DR

Herbal tea essences reduce obesity and improve metabolic health in mice fed a high-fat diet.

Contribution

This study demonstrates that herbal tea essence can regulate obesity-related genes and metabolic pathways.

Findings

HTE reduces body weight gain and improves glucose and insulin sensitivity in obese mice.

HTE inhibits lipid accumulation and lowers serum lipid levels.

HTE modulates genes involved in lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and lipid oxidation.

Abstract

Tea is one of the most popular beverages in the world. The health-promoting effects of tea and its individual constituents, including antiobesity and antihyperlipidaemia effects, have been well accepted. In this study, we evaluated the effects of herbal tea essence (HTE), a commercial product extracted from black tea, on HFD-induced obesity in mice. HTE effectively reduces the gain in body weight and improves glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity after HFD treatment. HTE inhibits lipid accumulation in the body and reduces serum lipid contents. Furthermore, HTE negatively regulates the expression levels of genes that control lipogenesis and gluconeogenesis and upregulates the expression of genes for lipid β oxidation. The regulatory effects of HTE on these genes may occur through activation of the AKT, IRS-1, and AMPK signalling pathways. Our observations suggest that HTE could be a promising option for nutritional intervention in the treatment of obesity.

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