News Release

White tea -- the solution to the obesity epidemic?

Peer-Reviewed Publication

BMC (BioMed Central)

This release is available in Chinese.

Possible anti-obesity effects of white tea have been demonstrated in a series of experiments on human fat cells (adipocytes). Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism have shown that an extract of the herbal brew effectively inhibits the generation of new adipocytes and stimulates fat mobilization from mature fat cells.

Marc Winnefeld led a team of researchers from Beiersdorf AG, Germany, who studied the biological effects of an extract of white tea – the least processed version of the tea plant Camellia sinensis. He said, "In the industrialized countries, the rising incidence of obesity-associated disorders including cardiovascular diseases and diabetes constitutes a growing problem. We've shown that white tea may be an ideal natural source of slimming substances".

After treating lab-cultured human pre-adipocytes with the tea extract, the authors found that fat incorporation during the genesis of new adipocytes was reduced. According to Winnefeld, "The extract solution induced a decrease in the expression of genes associated with the growth of new fat cells, while also prompting existing adipocytes to break down the fat they contain".

White tea is made from the buds and first leaves of the plant used to make green tea and the black tea most commonly drunk in Western countries. It is less processed than the other teas and contains more of the ingredients thought to be active on human cells, such as methylxanthines (like caffeine) and epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) – which the authors believe to be responsible for many of the anti-adipogenic effects demonstrated in their study.

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Notes to Editors

1. White Tea extract induces lipolytic activity and inhibits adipogenesis in human subcutaneous (pre)-adipocytes
Jörn Söhle, Anja Knott, Ursula Holtzmann, Ralf Siegner, Elke Grönniger, Andreas Schepky, Stefan Gallinat, Horst Wenck, Franz Stäb and Marc Winnefeld
Nutrition & Metabolism (in press)

During embargo, article available here: http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/imedia/9403036082333900_article.pdf?random=987200

After the embargo, article available at the journal website: http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request at press@biomedcentral.com on the day of publication.

2. Nutrition & Metabolism is an open access, peer-reviewed, online journal focused on the integration of nutrition, exercise physiology, clinical investigations, and molecular and cellular biochemistry of metabolism.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.


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