title: Regulation of the body fat percentage in developmental-stage rats by methylxanthine derivatives in a high-fat diet.
abstract: We investigated the regulatory effects of structural differences among methylxanthine derivatives on the elevation of body fat percentage in developmental-stage rats. Caffeine, theophylline and theobromine were used as the methylxanthines. High-fat diets (20% lard) containing each methylxanthine (0.025%) were administered to male Sprague-Dawley rats for 12 weeks, with the result that the body fat percentage was generally reduced in each methylxanthine-fed group. The abdominal adipose tissue weight in the caffeine group was also significantly lower than that in the control group, the serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the caffeine group also being significantly lower than the levels in the control group. The study results suggest that caffeine could contribute most to preventing arteriosclerotic diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutritional Science, Faculty of Applied Bio-Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi-Hattori
authors.forename: Yumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horiuchi
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oishi
authors.forename: Souichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Toshichika
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takita
mesh_terms: D050153:Abdominal Fat / Q000187:drug effects*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D004032:Diet; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013805:Theobromine / Q000494:pharmacology; D013806:Theophylline / Q000494:pharmacology; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood; D014970:Xanthines / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D004041:Dietary Fats; D014280:Triglycerides; D014970:Xanthines; C008514:methylxanthine; D002110:Caffeine; D002784:Cholesterol; D013806:Theophylline; D013805:Theobromine