Green tea polyphenols (GTPs) exhibit beneficial effects towards obesity and intestinal
inflammation; however, the mechanisms and association with gut microbiota are unclear.
We examined the role of the gut microbiota of GTPs treatment for obesity and inflammation.
Canines were fed either a normal diet or high-fat diet with low (0.48% g/kg), medium
(0.96% g/kg), or high (1.92% g/kg), doses of GTPs for 18 weeks. GTPs decreased the
relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and Fusobacteria and increased the relative abundance
of Firmicutes as revealed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing analysis. The relative proportion
of Acidaminococcus, Anaerobiospirillum, Anaerovibrio, Bacteroides, Blautia, Catenibactetium,
Citrobacter, Clostridium, Collinsella, and Escherichia were significantly associated
with GTPs-induced weight loss. GTPs significantly (P<.01) decreased expression levels
of inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, and inhibited induction
of the TLR4 signaling pathway compared with high-fat diet. We show that the therapeutic
effects of GTPs correspond with changes in gut microbiota and intestinal inflammation,
which may be related to the anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity mechanisms of GTPs.