Lee Swanson Research Update

Suntheanine® May Have Weight-loss Inducing Effects

December 2004

suntheanine

New research suggests Suntheanine, a pure L-theanine, consumed alone or in combination with caffeine, prevents body weight and abdominal fat gain-compared to a diet lacking any green tea components-without any apparent effect on appetite, according to a study published in the journal In Vivo.

In the study, researchers assessed the weight-loss-inducing effects of green tea and several of its constituents, alone and in combination, in young mice. "We were curious about the individual contributions of green tea constituents to weight-loss," said Kazutoshi Sayama, Ph.D., of Shizuoka University in Japan, one of the co-investigators of the study.

Lekh Raj Juneja, Ph.D., another co-investigator in the study and vice president of Taiyo Kagaku Co. Ltd., the manufacturer of Suntheanine, added the mice fed Suntheanine ate less. "Of the 10 different dietary treatments, the greatest trend for reduced food intake was seen with L-theanine added to the diet," he said. "We know that L-theanine may have an effect on brain chemistry and these results seem to align with this."

Previous animal studies have shown a combination of green tea catechins with or without caffeine to have possible anti-obesity effects, possibly exerted through increased thermogenesis.

In Vivo 18(1):55-62, 2004

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