Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Jinhua white tea (JWT) on weight loss of high fat diet mice. In this study, JWT was selected as the material and compared with the white tea without fungal fermentation method. The determination of major chemical components in the tea was conducted. An obesity mouse model was established, and the mice were administered orally with 400 mg·kg^-1 of JWT water extract as an intervention. The body weight of the mice was regularly recorded, and obesity-related indicators were measured, followed by histopathological analysis of the tissues. The results indicate that after fungal fermentation, the contents of flavonoids and theabrownin increased significantly, while the contents of tea polyphenols, free amino acids, soluble sugars, theaflavins and thearubigins decreased significantly. Meanwhile, among the catechin components, only epicatechin content increased significantly. JWT effectively inhibited the body weight gain in high fat diet mice, reduced their liver and white adipose tissue indices, alleviated inflammation and oxidative stress, and protected the structural integrity and function of the liver and intestines. Compared to white tea without fungal fermentation method, JWT significantly reduced the levels of TC, TG and inflammatory factors in mice, which were speculated to be related to the mass reproduction of Eurotium cristatum and the increase of flavonoids, epicatechin, theabrownin and other substances. While white tea shows a more pronounced effect on relieving liver oxidative stress, which was speculated to be due to the significant decrease in the content of epigallocatechin gallate after fungal fermentation. These findings suggest that JWT has a significant weight loss effect on mice with diet-induced obesity, while fungal fermentation method can improve the lipid-lowering and weight-reducing effects of white tea to a certain extent.

Key words: Jinhua white tea, white tea, fungal fermentation method, anti-obesity