Integrating transcriptomics and Microbiomics to unravel the regulatory effects of Anji white tea on lipid metabolism in HFD-induced obese mice

Abstract

Obesity has become a significant global health concern. Green tea is widely consumed as an internationally popular beverage and it is recognized that various green teas have unique biological activities. Here, the effects of Anji white tea (a green tea) ‌on lipid metabolism in high-fat-diet (HFD)-fed mice were investigated based on multi-omics. The results showed the functional components and antioxidant activity changed significantly in the whole process (fresh leaves-withering-stripping-drying). Oral gavage of Anji white tea water extract (AJT) for 9 weeks significantly lowered body weight, improved dysglycemia, and alleviated liver oxidative injury. Liver transcriptome analysis revealed that AJT regulated the gene expression related to the “valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation” pathway, including HADH, HMGCL, ACSF3, ACADS, ALDH3A2, and ACAA2. This result was further validated by qPCR and Western blotting. 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that AJT improved HFD-induced gut dysbiosis by significantly increasing beneficial genera (e.g., Muribaculaceae_norank and Alloprevotella) and reducing harmful bacteria (e.g., Bacteroides, Lachnospiraceae_uncultured, and Helicobacter). Furthermore, correlation analysis found that AJT-induced alteration of genera was greatly associated with obesity-related parameters and genes involved in the “valine, leucine, and isoleucine degradation” pathway. Collectively, our findings indicated that AJT may alleviate obesity by modulating gut microbiota and the “amino acids, valine, and leucine metabolism” pathway.