The effects of Hangzhou white tea on lowering lipids and blood glucose in mice

Abstract

Hangzhou white tea (HZWT) is a novel tea produced from local cultivars using traditional white tea processing. However, its potential health benefits remain unexplored. To elucidate the metabolic efficacy of Hangzhou white tea (HZWT), we evaluated its therapeutic impact on high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes in murine models. HZWT intervention significantly reversed metabolic dysregulation, reducing body weight by up to 14.41% and optimizing lipid profiles, which decreased TC, TG, LDL-C, and increased HDL-C. In diabetic models, HZWT lowered fasting blood glucose and enhanced glucose tolerance. Mechanistically, HZWT mitigated metabolic inflammation by significantly downregulating the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ. Notably, aged HZWT (2020) exhibited superior antiobesity efficacy compared to fresh HZWT (2023), suggesting that storage-dependent bioactivity enhancement. These findings demonstrate that HZWT ameliorates glucose and lipid metabolism through targeted suppression of inflammatory cascades, establishing it as a potent functional agent for lipid and glucose homeostasis.