A study conducted on mice by American researchers suggests the benefits of green tea combined with physical exercise to reduce cases of diseases caused by the accumulation of fat in the liver.
Also known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), “human fatty liver” disease is the accumulation of fat cells in the liver and causes lesions similar to those caused by cirrhosis. Due to the high prevalence of risk factors associated with NASH, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, it is estimated that more than 100 million people will suffer from fatty liver disease by 2030.
Only a quarter of the stored lipids
The study involved feeding mice for 16 weeks a high-fat diet, along with green tea extract and a regular exercise program on a wheel. Another group of rodents on the same diet but who only benefited from one of the two treatment elements (green tea or exercise) was included in the work as a control group.
The single consumption of green tea extract without exercise (or vice versa) observed in the mice in the control group also helped to reduce fat storage, but only by half, the scientists observe.
Gene expression favored
According to the study authors, mice treated with both green tea extract and exercise showed higher expression of genes linked to the formation of new mitochondria, parts of the body that play an essential role in cellular energy processes.
It is by analyzing this gene expression that the researchers hope to understand the mechanism by which the combination of green tea polyphenols and exercise could mitigate fat deposits in the liver.
Further research is however needed to determine whether there is a synergy created by green tea extract and exercise to reduce fat deposited in the liver or whether these effects are simply additive, underlines Joshua Lambert, lead author of the study, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. The researcher also recalls that these results have only been observed in mice and that they are not yet transferable as such to humans.
