Oolong tea

Chinese name:
Medical Name:
Latin Name: Camellia sinensis
Origin:
Property: Warm
Taste: Bitter, sweet

Quotes from Chinese historical sources

Western Research

Metabolism. 2008 Apr;57(4):526-34
Effects of oolong tea on renal sympathetic nerve activity and spontaneous hypertension in rats.
Tanida M, Tsuruoka N, Shen J, Kiso Y, Nagai K.
Institute for Protein Research, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. mtanida@anbas.co.jp
In a previous study, evidence was presented that oolong tea (OT) reduced abdominal fat accumulation in diet-induced obese mice. In the study presented here, we examined the sympathetic and cardiovascular effects of intraduodenal injection of OT in urethane-anesthetized rats and found that it suppressed renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) and blood pressure (BP). In addition, pretreatment with the histaminergic H3-receptor antagonist thioperamide or bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy eliminated the effects of OT on RSNA and BP. Furthermore, OT drinking for 14 weeks reduced BP elevation in spontaneously hypertensive rats. These results thus suggest that OT may exert its hypotensive action through changes in autonomic neurotransmission via an afferent neural mechanism. Moreover, we found that intraduodenal injection of decaffeinated OT lowered RSNA and BP as well as OT, indicating that substances other than caffeine contained in OT may function as effective modulators of RSNA and BP.

Cytotechnology. 1999 Sep;31(1-2):37-44
Effects of green, oolong and black teas and related components on the proliferation and invasion of hepatoma cells in culture
Zhang G, Miura Y, Yagasaki K.
The effects of teas and related components on the proliferation and invasion of cancer cells were examined by employing both in vitro proliferation and invasion assay systems. Powdered green, oolong and black tea extracts dose-dependently inhibited proliferation and invasion of a rat ascites hepatoma cell line of AH109A but did not affect the proliferation of the normal mesentery-derived mesothelial cells (M-cells) isolated from rats; higher concentrations of powdered oolong and black teas could restrain the proliferation of another tumor cell line of L929. The AH109A cells were found to penetrate underneath the monolayer of M-cells in the presence of 10% calf serum. When each rat serum obtained at 0.5, 1, 2, 3 and 5 h after oral intubation of each tea extract was added to the culture media instead of calf serum at a concentration of 10%, both the invasion and proliferation of AH109A were significantly suppressed. These ex vivo results suggest the potential bioavailability of effective tea components in rats. Furthermore, (-)-epigallocatechin gallate, (-)-epicatechin gallate and (-)-epigallocatechin from green tea as well as the mixture of theaflavin and theaflavin gallates from black tea were shown to be the most effective components against the invasion and proliferation of AH109A. These results show that the inhibitory effects of the teas and related components against AH109A cells are due to the cell-specific and higher sensitivity of the cell line to tea components.

Chin J Integr Med. 2009 Mar;15(1):34-41
Beneficial effects of oolong tea consumption on diet-induced overweight and obese subjects
He RR, Chen L, Lin BH, Matsui Y, Yao XS, Kurihara H.
School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medicine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, 110016, China.
OBJECTIVE: To determine the anti-obesity effects of oolong tea on diet-induced overweight or obesity. METHODS: A total of 8 g of oolong tea a day for 6 weeks was ingested by 102 diet-induced overweight or obese subjects. The body fat level of the subjects was determined at the same time by taking body weight, height and waist measurements. The thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer was also determined on the abdomen 3 cm to the right of the navel by the ultrasonic echo method. On the other hand, effects of oolong tea ingestion on plasma triglyceride (TG) and total cholesterol (TC) were determined. Inhibitions of pancreatic lipase by oolong tea extract and catechins in vitro were also determined. RESULTS: A total of 70% of the severely obese subjects did show a decrease of more than 1 kg in body weight, including 22% who lost more than 3 kg. Similarly, 64% of the obese subjects and 66% of the overweight subjects lost more than 1 kg during the experiment, and the subcutaneous fat content decreased in 12% of the subjects. The correlation between weight loss and subcutaneous fat decrease in men (r=0.055) was obviously lower than that in women (r=0.440, P<0.01). Body weight loss was signifificantly related to the decrease of the waist size in men (r=0.730, P<0.01) and women (r=0.480, P<0.01). Also, the correlation between subcutaneous fat reduction and decreased waist size was signifificant in women (r=0.554, P<0.01), but not in men (r=0.050, P>0.05). Moreover, the plasma levels of TG and TC of the subjects with hyperlipidemia were remarkably decreased after ingesting oolong tea for 6 weeks. In vitro assays for the inhibition of pancreatic lipase by oolong tea extract and catechins suggest that the mechanism for oolong tea to prevent hyperlipidemia may be related to the regulative action of oolong tea catechins in lipoprotein activity. CONCLUSIONS: Oolong tea could decrease body fat content and reduce body weight.

Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2007 Apr;71(4):971-6.
Suppression of postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in rats and mice by oolong tea polymerized polyphenols.
Toyoda-Ono Y, Yoshimura M, Nakai M, Fukui Y, Asami S, Shibata H, Kiso Y, Ikeda I.
Suntory Institute for Health Care Science, Osaka, Japan. yoshiko_toyoda@suntory.co.jp
Oolong tea-polymerized polyphenols (OTPP) are characterized polyphenols produced from semi-fermented tea (oolong tea). In the present study, we evaluated the suppressive effects of oolong tea extract and OTPP on postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in rats and mice. Lymphatic recovery of triglycerides in rats cannulated in the thoracic duct was delayed by the administration of oolong tea extract at 100 and 200 mg per head, and more effectively than with green tea extract. OTPP delayed lymphatic triglyceride absorption at 20 mg/head, though (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) did not do so at the same dose. OTPP also suppressed postprandial hypertriglyceridemia after administration of olive oil in mice. The area under the curve (AUC) of plasma triglycerides was significantly decreased, by 53% and 76%, in the 500 and 1,000 mg/kg OTPP groups respectively, as compared with the control group. These results suggest that OTPP is responsible for the suppression of hypertriglyceridemia by ingestion of oolong tea.