Green Tea Powder Decreased Egg Weight Through Increased Liver Lipoprotein Lipase and Decreased Plasma Total Cholesterol in an Indigenous Chicken Breed.

Whether or not green tea promotes egg production is unclear. Huainan partridge chickens at 20 weeks of age were divided into two groups, with one group fed a basal diet (control) and one fed a basal diet plus 10 g/kg green tea powder (GTP) for 12 weeks. Egg production (EP) and feed intake (FI) were recorded daily. Plasma lipid parameters, and apolipoprotein-B (Apo-B), 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), and lipoprotein lipase (LPL) expression were determined every four weeks. Egg production and FI showed no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Egg weight was 47.58 g in the control group, which was higher than that of the GTP group, and the feed-to-egg ratio (FCR) was 4.62 in the control group, which was lower than that of the GTP group after 12 weeks feeding. Compared with the control group, plasma orexin A (p < 0.05), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), apolipoprotein A (Apo A), and very high-density lipoprotein (VHDL) (p < 0.01, respectively) were increased. Plasma glucose (Glu), free fatty acid (FFA), apolipoprotein B (Apo B), triglyceride (TG), total cholesterol (TC) (p < 0.01, respectively), and low density lipoprotein (LDL) (p < 0.05) were decreased in the GTP group after 8 weeks feeding. The LPL expression in the liver was increased in the GTP group after 8 to 12 weeks feeding when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Chickens fed GTP did not affect EP, but decreased egg weight, which might be because of lower plasma lipid concentration, increased plasma Orexin A, and liver LPL expression.