Black Tea Extract May Benefit Cholesterol

OSAKA, Japan— Black tea extract intake showed a significant anti-hypercholesterolemic effect and may improve blood cholesterol levels in subjects at risk for heart disease or obesity (Nutr J. 2008;28(7):450-56). A recent double blind randomized group comparison study involved borderline hypercholesterolemic human subjects (n=47) ingesting 333 mg of black tea extract (BTE) or a placebo three times daily before meals for three months. In the BTE-treated group, the initial mean blood total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels decreased with time and were significantly lower (P<0.01) after three months of ingestion. Furthermore, mean body weights (P<0.05) and triacylglycerol levels (P<0.01) were also significantly reduced after three months of BTE intake compared with the baseline levels. Significant improvements in the mean LDL cholesterol, body weight and triacylglycerol values were not accompanied with undesirable changes in other biochemical parameters measured in the subjects