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The ability of green tea to positively modulate key markers of gastrointestinal function in rats
Author(s) -
Molan AbdulLateef,
Liu Zhuojian,
Tiwari Ruby
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
phytotherapy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.019
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1573
pISSN - 0951-418X
DOI - 10.1002/ptr.3145
Subject(s) - bacteroides , green tea extract , clostridia , selenium , food science , population , bifidobacterium , biology , chemistry , zoology , green tea , lactobacillus , bacteria , medicine , fermentation , genetics , environmental health , organic chemistry
The beneficial effects of selenium‐containing green tea (Se‐GTE, 1.44 mg selenium/kg dry leaves) and China green tea (CH‐GTE, 0.13 mg selenium/kg leaves) on the population size of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria and the activity of two microbial enzymes in the caeca of rats have been investigated. Oral gavage of rats with Se‐GTE extract for 6 days resulted in a significant increase in caecal counts of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria ( p < 0.05) while significantly reducing the caecal counts of bacteroides and clostridial bacteria. In contrast, gavaging the rats with CH‐GTE extract for 6 days resulted in a slight but not significant increase in the numbers of caecal lactobacilli and bifidobacteria but decreased significantly the numbers of bacteroides ( p < 0.05) and clostridia ( p < 0.05). In addition, rats gavaged with CH‐GTE and Se‐GTE showed a 17.2% and 21.3% reduction in the activity of the bacterial enzyme β‐glucuronidase, respectively, when compared with the rats gavaged with water only. β‐glucuronidase is considered to be one of the enzymes that increases the risk for colorectal cancer. Moreover, gavaging rats with these teas resulted in 19% and 25.5% increments in the activity of β‐glucosidase, respectively. In conclusion, Se‐GTE showed both bifidogenic and lactogenic effects and the high level of selenium may be behind the superiority of this tea over CH‐GTE. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.