Searchable abstracts of presentations at key conferences in endocrinology
Endocrine Abstracts (2013) 32 P746 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.32.P746

ECE2013 Poster Presentations Obesity (65 abstracts)

Green tea catechins attenuate high-fat diet effects related to obesity and diabetes without effect hypothalamic expression of TLR4 pathway or serotoninergic 1B and 2C receptors

Marcos Hiromu Okuda , Aline Alves de Santana , Mayara Franzoi Moreno , Ana Claudia Hachul , Nelson Inacio Neto , Bruno dos Santos , Claudia Maria Oller do Nascimento , Juliane Zemdegs , Eliane Beraldi Ribeiro & Lila Missae Oyama


UNIFESP – Departamento de Fisiologia, São Paulo, Brazil.


Many mechanisms are proposed for green tea’s role as anti-obesity and anti-diabetic natural product. Two of them involve the hypothalamic control of energy balance: i) high-fat diets (HFD) rich in saturated fats induce low-grade inflammation, leading to leptin and insulin resistance; ii) serotonin receptors (SR) 1B and 2C activation have anorexigenic effects, SR2C activation improves insulin sensitivity, and HFD can also impair this system. We investigated the effects of green tea catechins (50 mg/kg, gavage) on metabolic effects of 60 days treatment of HFD (30% lard) in male Swiss mice. Groups: control diet+tap water (C) or catechins (CE); HFD+tap water (H) or catechins (HE). Glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed 3 days before sacrifice. After overnight fasting, mice were sacrificed and serum was analyzed for glucose, HDL-cholesterol, total cholesterol, triglycerides, adiponectin, and insulin. Besides, we investigated whether these metabolic events were related to the hypothalamic inflammatory pathway (TLR4) and/or serotoninergic system (SR1B and SR2C). H mice presented increased GTT area under curve and higher fat pads (sum of epididymal, retroperitoneal and mesenteric). Green tea catechins attenuated the increased GTT area under curve (F=9.3 (3.37); P=0.08 H vs HE) without effects on fat pads (F=7.9 (3.86); P<0.05 vs C). Fasting serum glucose, total cholesterol, and triglycerides were not different among groups. H mice presented lower HDL-cholesterol (F=7.9 (3.31); P<0.05 vs C, E, and HE), higher HOMA-IR (F=9.3 (3.27); P<0.05 vs C), and higher insulin (F=7.2 (1.14); P<0.05 vs C), which were improved by green tea catechins. Expression of TLR4 pathway proteins, SR1B and SR2C in the hypothalamus was not different among treatments. In conclusion, green tea catechins prevented some of the peripheral negative effects of HFD, which were not related to the expression of analyzed hypothalamic proteins. Whether other proteins of the inflammatory pathway or serotoninergic system are involved is to be investigated.

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