Effect of Optional Consumption of Iranian Black and Green Tea on Lipid Profile of Serum and Liver in High-Fat Diet Rats

Objective: Tea, camellia sinensis, which is used as a popular beverage in Iran, may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases suchas coronary heart disease (CHD). In this investigation, we studied the effect of Iranian black and green tea on serum and liver lipid profile which is closely associated with obesity and many cardiovascular diseases. Materials and Methods: 24 male adult Wistar rats were randomly divided in to 4 equal groups: Control (C), high-fat (HF), black tea (HF+BT), and green tea (HF+GT). Accordingly, serum total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), very low density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) were among the parameters determined in high fat diet rats. We also evaluated the TC, TG and total lipid (TL) content of liver. Results: Results show that optional consumption of both of teas for 8 weeks significantly decreased serum TC by 40% and only black tea lowered serum TG and VLDL-C by 34.3%. Whereas the level of serum LDL-C decreased by 36.5% after using green tea. Consumption of green tea reduced TG and TC level at liver by 47.4% and 24.7%, respectively. Conclusion: Based on lowering effect of Iranian black and green tea on lipid profile of serum and liver, presentation of tea together with a high fat diet reduces some of hyperlipidemia indices by significant amounts and may, therefore, reduce the risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases.