The potential health benefits of
tea have long been studied. This study examined the role of powdered sea buckthorn leaf
tea (SLT) in high-fat diet-induced obese mice. The mice were fed two different doses of SLT (1% and 5%, wt/wt) for six weeks. SLT suppressed
body weight gain in a dose-dependent manner and significantly reduced visceral fat, plasma levels of
leptin,
triglyceride and total
cholesterol and ALT activity compared with the high-fat-fed control mice. SLT also decreased hepatic
triglyceride and
cholesterol concentrations and
lipid accumulation, whereas elevated fecal
lipid excretion. High-fat feeding resulted in simultaneously decreasing hepatic FAS and G6PD activities and increasing PAP, β-oxidation and
CPT activities. However, SLT supplementation during high-fat feeding led to a significant decrease in PAP, β-oxidation and
CPT activities with a simultaneous increase in G6PD activity. The hepatic
CYP2E1 activity and hepatic and erythrocyte
lipid peroxides were significantly lowered with SLT supplements. Hepatic and erythrocyte SOD and CAT activities were also increased with SLT supplements in a dose-dependent manner, whereas GSH-Px activity was increased in erythrocytes only. These results indicate that SLT has potential anti-
visceral obesity and
antioxidant effects mediated by the regulation of
lipid and
antioxidant metabolism in high-fat diet-induced obese mice.