Abstract
BACKGROUND: Post-fermented tea has been used for the prevention of metabolic syndrome in Western China. Present study reports the biochemical mechanism of lipid-lowering effects of Jing-wei fu tea (JWFT), a variety of post-fermented tea on high-fat diet-induced hyperglycemia and obesity in rats. METHODS: Aqueous extract of JWFT was prepared by putting them in boiling water, and then concentrated under reduced pressure. The major compounds of JWFT were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). High-fat diet fed rats were orally administered different doses of JWFT aqueous extract (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg) for four weeks. At the end of this experiment, hepatic lipids, serum leptin and lipids levels were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The hepatic fatty acid composition was analyzed using gas chromatography mass (GC-MS). The relative expression of lipids metabolism genes was analyzed using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: The results showed that JWFT inhibited the increase in the body weight, abdominal adipose weight, serum lipids and hepatic lipids, and decreased serum leptin levels of high-fat diet fed rats. JWFT normalized hepatic fatty acid composition of hyperlipidemia rats by up-regulating hepatic acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), stearoyl-CoA desaturase 1 (SCD1) and fatty acid synthase (FAS) gene expression, and down-regulating carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 (CPT1). Furthermore, the results showed that JWFT inhibited the absorption of lipids. CONCLUSION: JWFT could mitigate the obesity-induced hepatic steatosis by regulating hepatic lipogenesis and lipolysis.