High gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) oolong tea alleviates high-fat diet-induced metabolic disorders in mice
Open accessAbstract
Obesity and overweight are associated with an increasing risk of developing health conditions and chronic non-communicable diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, musculoskeletal problems, respiratory problems, and mental health, and its prevalence is rising. Diet is one of three primary lifestyle interventions. Many bioactive components in tea especially oolong tea, including flavonoids, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and caffeine were reported to show related effects in reducing the risk of obesity. However, the effects of GABA oolong tea extracts (OTEs) on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity are still unclear. Therefore, this study aims to explore whether the intervention of GABA OTEs can prevent HFD-induced obesity and decipher its underlying mechanisms using male C57BL/6 J mice. The result indicated that GABA OTEs reduced leptin expression in epididymal adipose tissue and showed a protective effect on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It promoted thermogenesis-related protein of uncoupling protein-1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator (PGC-1α), boosted lipid metabolism, and promoted fatty acid oxidation. It also reduced lipogenesis-related protein levels of sterol regulatory element binding protein, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, and fatty acid synthase and inhibited hepatic triglyceride (TG) levels. These data suggest that regular drinking of GABA oolong tea has the potential to reduce the risk of being overweight, preventing obesity development through thermogenesis, lipogenesis, and lipolysis.
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GABA-rich fermented extracts and oolong tea have been shown to lower plasma triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein levels, down-regulate genes related to adipogenesis (SREBP-1c, FAS, SCD-1, and ACC), and promote lipid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation.
“Furthermore, GABA-rich fermented extracts and oolong tea have been shown to lower plasma triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein levels, down-regulate genes related to adipogenesis (SREBP-1c, FAS, SCD-1, and ACC), and promote lipid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation (Park et al., 2020; Weerawatanakorn et al., 2023).”
From Lactiplantibacillus plantarum N4 ameliorates lipid metabolism and gut microbiota structure in high fat diet-fed rats (2024) · cites this paper as Weerawatanakorn et al., 2023
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Weerawatanakorn, M., He, S., Chang, C.-H., Koh, Y.-C., Yang, M.-J., & Pan, M.-H.
- Affiliations
- Naresuan University (TH)
- Institute of Food Sciences and Technology, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- National Taiwan University (TW)
- Taiwan Tea Research and Extension Station, Taoyuan 326011, Taiwan
- Asia University (TW)
- Corresponding author
- Pan, Min-Hsiung
- Venue
- ACS Omega
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Published
- 2023-09-05
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 37
- Pages
- 33997-34007
- ISSN
- 2470-1343 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10515172
- OpenAlex
- W4386482486
- Cited by
- 19
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9
- FWCI
- 3.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- ACS Omega (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (110-2320-B-002-019-MY3)
- Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, Thailand
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Tea Polyphenols and Effects
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › GABA and Rice Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Adipose Tissue and Metabolism
- Keywords
- GABA, oolong tea, high-fat diet, obesity, metabolic disorders, leptin, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, thermogenesis, UCP1, PGC-1α, lipogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, hepatic triglycerides, SREBP, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, lipid metabolism
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