New York: Caffeine may offset some of the negative effects of an obesogenic diet by reducing the storage of lipids in fat cells and limiting weight gain and the production of triglycerides, researchers have found. Published in the Journal of Functional Foods, the research team from University of Illinois in US picked mice for the study and found that rats that consumed the caffeine extracted from mate tea gained 16 per cent less weight and accumulated 22 per cent less body fat than rats that consumed decaffeinated mate tea.
The effects were similar with synthetic caffeine and that extracted from coffee. Mate tea is an herbal beverage rich in phytochemicals, flavonoids and amino acids that's consumed as a stimulant by people in southeastern Latin American countries.
The amount of caffeine per serving in mate tea ranges from 65-130 milligrams, compared with 30-300 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of brewed coffee, according to the study. "Considering the findings, mate tea and caffeine can be considered anti-obesity agents. The results of this research could be scaled to humans to understand the roles of mate tea and caffeine as potential strategies to prevent overweight and obesity, as well as the subsequent metabolic disorders associated with these conditions," said study researcher said Elvira Gonzalez de Mejia.
According to the researchers, for four weeks, the rats in the study ate a diet that contained 40 per cent fat, 45 per cent carbohydrate and 15 per cent protein.
They also ingested one of the forms of caffeine in an amount equivalent to that of a human who drinks four cups of coffee daily. At the end of the four-week period, the percentage of lean body mass in the various groups of rats differed significantly.
The rats that ingested caffeine from mate tea, coffee or synthetic sources accumulated less body fat than rats in the other groups. --IANS
