Anti-Obesity Effect of Green Tea Catechins in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Green tea catechins, especially epigallocatechin gallate, are among the most studied natural products in experimental obesity research. This review, which reports no new data, brings together published work on their effects in mice fed high-fat diets. It describes catechin chemistry and pharmacokinetics, the design and limits of the diet-induced obesity model, reported effects on body weight, fat mass, liver fat and glucose handling, proposed mechanisms including reduced energy absorption, increased fat oxidation and gut microbiota change, and safety at high doses. Findings are broadly consistent across rodent studies, but doses are often far above human tea intake, housing and reporting practices vary, and translation to people has been modest.