Saturated fatty acid attenuates anti-obesity effect of green tea

Green tea and its major polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) have suppressive effect on dietary obesity. However, it remains unsolved what type of diet on which they exhibit high or low anti-obesity effect. In the present study, we investigated whether anti-obesity effect of green tea differs depending on composition of fats or fatty acids that consist high-fat (HF) diet in mouse model. Green tea extract (GTE) intake dramatically suppressed weight gain and fat accumulation induced by olive oil-based HF diet, whereas the effects on those induced by beef tallow-based HF diet were weak. GTE also effectively suppressed obesity induced by unsaturated fatty acid-enriched HF diet with the stronger effect compared with that induced by saturated fatty acid-enriched HF diet. These differences would be associated with the increasing action of GTE on expression of PPARδ signaling pathway-related genes in the white adipose tissue. Expressions of genes relating to EGCG signaling pathway that is critical for exhibition of physiological effects of EGCG were also associated with the different effects of GTE. Here, we show that anti-obesity effect of GTE differs depending on types of fats or fatty acids that consist HF diet and could be attenuated by saturated fatty acid.