Effect of tea catechins on body fat accumulation in rats fed a normal diet.

Although it is known that tea catechins exert potent effects in obese subjects, there is scant information concerning these effects on body weight gain and body fat accumulation in the non-obese. We studied normal rats fed a normal diet and water containing either 0.1% or 0.5% tea catechins to examine the effects on body fat content and serum cholesterol levels, as well as evaluating whether the effect is related to bile acids, which in recent years have emerged as an inducer of energy expenditure. The administration of 0.5% catechins decreased the accumulation of body fat and the serum levels of cholesterol and bile acids. These results indicate that tea catechins modulate lipid metabolism not only in obese subjects, but also in the non-obese.