Ingestion of a tea rich in catechins leads to a reduction in body fat and malondialdehyde-modified LDL in men.
BACKGROUND
Catechins, the major component of green tea extract, have various physiologic effects. There are few studies, however, on the effects of catechins on body fat reduction in humans. It has been reported that the body mass index (BMI) correlates with the amount of malondialdehyde and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances in the blood.


OBJECTIVE
We investigated the effect of catechins on body fat reduction and the relation between oxidized LDL and body fat variables.


METHODS
After a 2-wk diet run-in period, healthy Japanese men were divided into 2 groups with similar BMI and waist circumference distributions. A 12-wk double-blind study was performed in which the subjects ingested 1 bottle oolong tea/d containing 690 mg catechins (green tea extract group; n = 17) or 1 bottle oolong tea/d containing 22 mg catechins (control group; n = 18).


RESULTS
Body weight, BMI, waist circumference, body fat mass, and subcutaneous fat area were significantly lower in the green tea extract group than in the control group. Changes in the concentrations of malondialdehyde-modified LDL were positively associated with changes in body fat mass and total fat area in the green tea extract group.


CONCLUSIONS
Daily consumption of tea containing 690 mg catechins for 12 wk reduced body fat, which suggests that the ingestion of catechins might be useful in the prevention and improvement of lifestyle-related diseases, mainly obesity.
Nagao
Tomonori
T
Health Care Products Research Laboratories No.1, Kao Corporation, Tokyo.
Komine
Yumiko
Y
Soga
Satoko
S
Meguro
Shinichi
S
Hase
Tadashi
T
Tanaka
Yukitaka
Y
Tokimitsu
Ichiro
I
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000187:drug effects*; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001823:Body Composition; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002392:Catechin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000097:blood*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013662:Tea; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances / Q000378:metabolism
D008077:Lipoproteins, LDL; D013662:Tea; D017392:Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002392:Catechin