We studied the influence of powdered green tea (PGT) and its caffeine content on the adipose conversion of 3T3-L1 cells by insulin and lipolysis of well-differentiated 3T3-L1 cells. In the 11 days of culture with insulin, the fat cells exhibited more numerous and larger intracytoplasmic lipid droplets, and the activities of glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH), a marker of adipose conversion, were increased. When PGT and insulin were added simultaneously, the accumulation of lipid droplets and the increase of GPDH were significantly inhibited (p < 0.01). But the caffeine, which has the same concentration as PGT, accelerated adipose conversion. When PGT or caffeine was exposed to mature adipocytes, smaller-sized intracytoplasmic lipid droplets selectively disappeared. These data suggest that PGT inhibited lipogenesis and stimulated lipolysis.
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Hasegawa et al. (2000) studied this question.