Effects of Chinese Green Tea and Oolong Tea on Blood Pressure, Plasma and Liver Lipids in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats and Rats with Fructose-induced Hyperlipidemia

Abstract

The effects of Chinese green tea and Oolong tea on blood pressure, plasma and liver lipid levels were studied in male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) (4 weeks old) and male rats (3 weeks old) fed a high fructose diet. The animals were supplied with Chinese green tea (CI), tea 5 times the CI concentration (CII), Oolong tea (OI) and tea 5 times the OI concentration (OII) in drinking water ad libitum. 1) In SHR supplied with tea for 8 weeks, the blood pressure decreased significantly. The level of plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol was increased significantly by the administration of OII, while the corresponding levels of plasma triglyceride were decreased significantly by OI or OII. 2) When Wistar rats fed on a high-fructose diet were supplied with tea for 6 weeks, dietary hyperlipidemia was observed in the control group. However, the elevation of plasma total and HDL cholesterol was reduced significantly by administration of CII. The level of plasma triglyceride was reduced significantly by CII, OI or OII supplementation.