Ability of a Tea Leaf Extracts Preparation to Slow Down Carbohydrate and Fat Absorption

One of the commonly cited beneficial effects of tea is its ability to induce weight loss. Support for this contention include a controlled human trial showing increased weight loss when tea was added to a dietary regimen, and a mouse study demonstrating that administration of a tea extract with a high fat diet eliminated the weight gain observed in the absence of tea. Several different mechanisms have been postulated to account for this weight control. Multiple studies have reported modest increases in energy expenditure associated with ingestion of oolong or green teas. In addition, tea could inhibit the absorption of carbohydrate and/or fat. Studies supporting the possibility of carbohydrate malabsorption include a in vitro studies showing that constituents of tea inhibit the activity of carbohydrate digesting enzymes (α-amylase and α-glucosidase, and the mucosal uptake of glucose via an interaction with sodium dependent glucose transporters. The in vitro demonstration that tea extracts inhibit pancreatic lipase activity suggests that tea might interfere with triglyceride absorption.

However, there have been no in vivo studies in humans or animals showing that tea preparations actually are capable of causing malabsorption of either carbohydrate or fat. In the present study, we utilized measurements of breath H2 and 13CO2 to investigate the ability of a mixture of black, green and mulberry tea leaf extracts to induce malabsorption of carbohydrate and fat in healthy volunteers.

Protocol - The study group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers (ages 23 to 52, 10 females and 10 males). The subjects fasted after their usual dinner on the day preceding the study until the following morning (approximately 8 am) when the experiments were performed. After collection of baseline breath samples for H2 and 13CO2 analysis, the subjects ingested the test meal that consisted of cooked white rice and butter. The rice was boiled for20 minutes, and then individual portions (176 g, which contained 50 g of carbohydrate) were weighed and frozen with 10g of butter. Immediately prior to ingestion, the meals were warmed in a microwave oven, and 0.2 g of 1,1,1-13C-triolein (Cambridge Isotope Laboratories, Andover, MA) was thoroughly mixed into the meal. Concurrent with ingestion of the meal, the subjects randomly were assigned to drink either 500 ml of the warm active tea preparation containing 10 g of sucrose or 500 ml of a placebo preparation that also contained 10 g of sucrose. Breath samples were then collected at hourly intervals for eight hours. At the end of each test period, subjects were asked to rate a variety of symptoms including nausea, bloating, abdominal discomfort, and rectal gas (as well as obfuscating symptoms) on a previously described linear scale that ranged from zero (none) to 4 (severe). In addition, the number of loose bowel movements were noted. One week later the test was repeated with the subjects receiving the opposite preparation from that used in the initial study. The study was approved by the Human Studies Subcommittee of the Mpls. VA Medical center and informed consent was obtained from all subjects.