Examining the effect of white TEA on carbonic anhydrase II isoenzyme in experimental obesity model

Obesity is a metabolic disorder that threatens public health with its increasing prevalence worldwide. White tea from fresh Camellia sinensis leaves has multiple mechanisms of effect in weight management, not all of which have been elucidated. In this study, it was aimed to elucidate the mechanisms on obesity of white tea, which is an easy-to-drink beverage that has production possibilities in our country with none-toxic effects, might become a part of daily habit and allows long-term use. For this, it was assumed that the carbonic anhydrase enzyme, which is activated as a bicarbonate provider in the de novo lipogenesis steps, can be inhibited with white tea and thus fat storage can be reduced. Within the scope of the thesis, 32 male rats of Sprague-Dawley during 12 weeks were divided into 4 groups to be fed with control feed, high-fat feed, orlistat (30 mg/kg) added to high-fat feed, and white tea (5 mg/kg) supplemented to high-fat feed. The groups were named as control, case, positive control and white tea, respectively. The rats were followed up by recording weekly weights for the specified period. At the end of the process, retroperitoneal adipose tissues were taken and carbonic anhydrase II gene expression and total carbonic anhydrase hydratase activity were determined. When the weights at the end of the study were compared, it was seen that the case group was significantly higher than the control group, and the white tea group was significantly lower. Carbonic anhydrase II gene expression; It was determined as 1.15 times in the case group, 0.94 times in the positive control group, and 0.87 times in the white tea group compared to the control group. Total carbonic anhydrase hydratase activity was found to be significantly lower in the case and positive control groups compared to the control group. A similar amount of activity was found between the control and white tea groups. As a result, it was seen that white tea decreased the gene expression of carbonic anhydrase II associated with de novo lipogenesis. In this respect, we think that white tea has the potential to reduce fat storage. However, since this effect is not fully reflected in the total activity, more studies are needed in this area, especially the measurement of the expressions of other isoenzymes and lipogenesis-related proteins. Keywords: White Tea, Obesity, Carbonic Anhydrase