Effective Dosage: There is currently no clinical evidence that Oolong tea is effective as a weight loss supplement at any dosage.
Oolong tea is one of three types of tea manufactured from tealeaves. The other types are black and green tea. Oolong tea is less fermented than black tea and is served commonly in Chinese restaurants and sold commercially in the United States. Oolong tea has been researched for its antioxidant properties, it's effects on cardiovascular disease, cancer and obesity. There is some data to suggest that oolong tea may promote weight loss through increasing energy expenditure (EE). Caffeine itself is known to increase EE for several hours following ingestion, depending on the level of intake. Oolong tea contains significant amounts of caffeine. It is unclear whether the increase in EE that accompanies the consumption of oolong tea is solely due to caffeine or to other constituents such as polyphenolic compounds.
The following is a animal study conducted on Oolong Tea to evaluate weight loss properties:
Title: Anti-obesity action of oolong tea (Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 1999 Jan;23(1):98-105.
Source: 2nd Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Ehime University, Japan.( Han LK, Takaku T, Li J, Kimura Y, Okuda H)
Objective: Oolong tea is traditionally reported to have anti-obesity and hypolipidaemic effects. The present study was performed to clarify whether oolong tea prevented obesity induced in mice by the oral administration of a high-fat diet for 10 weeks.
Method: High-fat diet-induced obese mice were treated with oolong tea for 10 weeks. The effects of various active fractions isolated from oolong tea on noradrenaline-induced lipolysis were examined with isolated fat cells and a cell-free system consisting of lipid droplets and hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). RESULTS: The mean food consumption was not significantly different between high-fat diet-treated mice and high-fat plus oolong tea diet-treated mice. Oolong tea prevented the obesity and fatty liver induced by a high-fat diet. A water extract of oolong tea enhanced noradrenaline-induced lipolysis, and the active substance was identified as caffeine. Caffeine enhanced noradrenaline-induced lipolysis in fat cells without a concomitant increase in HSL activity and also accelerated the hormone-induced lipolysis in a cell-free system consisting of lipid droplets and HSL, but not in the cell-free system with sonicated lipid droplets and HSL. Oolong tea extract inhibited pancreatic lipase activity.
Conclusion: It was demonstrated that the anti-obesity effects of oolong tea in high-fat diet-treated mice might be due partly to the enhancing effect of caffeine isolated from oolong tea on noradrenaline-induced lipolysis in adipose tissue, and to the inhibitory action of some other substance in oolong tea on pancreatic lipase activity. Caffeine was found to enhance lipolysis through acting on lipid droplets but not on HSL. The results suggest that oolong tea may be an effective crude drug for the treatment of obesity and fatty liver caused by a high-fat diet.
These statements about Oolong tea have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Oolong tea is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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