LAUSR

BACKGROUND Tea catechins have been shown to be beneficial for obesity alleviation, diabetic prevention, and metabolic syndrome amelioration. The purpose of the present work is to explore the underlying mechanism linking the intestinal microbiota and anti-obesity benefits of green tea, oolong tea, and black tea catechins in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS Results indicated that after the dietary intake of three tea catechins, obesity and low-grade inflammation were significantly alleviated. And hepatic steatosis was prevented, accompanied by up-regulating the mRNA and protein expressions of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). The metagenomic analysis of fecal samples suggested that the three tea catechins similarly shifted the microbiota in overall structures, compositions, and predicted protein functions, through regulating the metabolites with facilitating the generation of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and repressing lipopolysaccharide. CONCLUSION To conclude, the anti-obese properties of three tea catechins were partially mediated by their favorable effect on gut microbiota, hepatic steatosis alleviation, and anti-inflammatory activity. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.