Improvement of Obesity Phenotype by
Chinese Sweet Leaf Tea (Rubus suavissimus) Components in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2011, 59 (1), pp 98–104
Improvement of Obesity Phenotype by Chinese Sweet Leaf Tea (Rubus suavissimus) Components in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Rats

ABSTRACT
Gar Yee Koh, Kathleen McCutcheon, Fang Zhang, Dong Liu, Carrie A. Cartwright, Roy Martin, Peiying Yang, and Zhijun Liu
School of Renewable Natural Resources
Division of Human Nutrition and Food, School of Human Ecology
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, United States
Department of General Oncology/Cancer Biology, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston, Texas 77030, United States

Drinking an herbal tea to lose weight is a well-liked concept. This study was designed to examine the possible improvement of obesity phenotype by a new tea represented by its purified components, gallic acid, ellagic acid, and rubusoside (GER). Male obese-prone SD rats were given low-fat diet, high-fat diet, or high-fat diet plus GER at the dose of 0.22 g/kg of body weight for 9 weeks. GER significantly reduced body weight gain by 22% compared to the high-fat diet control group with 48% less abdominal fat gain. Food intake was not affected. Blood glucose was lowered in the GER-treated group, whereas serum triglycerides and cholesterol were significantly reduced by 50%. This improved obesity phenotype may be associated with the attenuated expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in preadipocyte 3T3-L1 cells. Although other underlying, possibly multiple, mechanisms behind the improved phenotype are largely unknown, the observed improvement of multiple obesity-related parameters by the new tea warrants further investigations.

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