NTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN MULTIDISCIPLINARY FIELD ISSN – 2455-0620 Volume - 2, Issue - 10, Oct - 2016 LIPID AND CHOLESTEROL LOWERING EFFECT OF GREEN VS BLACK TEA – HOW MUCH, HOW FREQUENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW Page 167 LIPID AND CHOLESTEROL LOWERING EFFECT OF GREEN VS BLACK TEA – HOW MUCH, HOW FREQUENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction:(12Bold) Materials: INTRODUCTION: Green tea (Camella Sinensis), which contains powerful antioxidants, is one of the most popular beverages consumed around the world. It differs from black tea since it is made from unfermented leaves and reportedly contains the highest concentration of powerful antioxidants called polyphones which constitute 30-35% of its dry weight and is popularly known as catechins [1]. The compound (−)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) is the major catechin which constitutes 63% of the total catechins. A cup of green tea typically provides 60 to 125 mg catechins, including EGCG [2]. Other primary catechins present in green tea include epicatechin (EC), epicatechin gallate (ECG), and epigallocatechin (EGC).The catechins are mainly absorbed by small intestine after ingestion. They are metabolized by Phase II enzymes including sulphotransferases (SULTs), UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGTs), and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT), with further metabolism occurring in the liver [3]. Catechins lower the lipid by un-regulating lipid-metabolizing enzyme via NF-KB and thereby stimulating fat oxidation. They also inhibit neither COMT which leads to an increase in nor epinephrine and acdenyl cyclase, thereby decreasing the glucose uptake and enhancing the biolysis. Furthermore, they decrease fat absorption by inhibiting pancreatic lipases and gastric lipases [4]. Fermentation of green tea results in the formation of black tea. When green tea is fermented, some of the most beneficial chemical compounds it contains are partially or completely destroyed. The most notable of these health-giving compounds is EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). The catechins in green tea polymerizes resulting in DR. PERWEZ KHANAM Lecturer, Department of Biochemistry King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for Health Sciences, College of Nursing, Al Ahsa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Email – khanampe@ngha.med.sa Abstract: Green tea, unfermented leaves are rich in catechins. Catechins are known to lower the lipid level by un-regulating lipid-metabolizing enzyme via NF-KB and thereby stimulating fat oxidation. Black tea results from the fermentation of green tea in which catechins of green tea is converted to theaflavin and thearubigin, which has some significant health benefits of their own. Theaflavin is responsible for reduced lipid accumulation, suppressed fatty acid synthesis, and stimulated fatty acid oxidation by inhibiting acetyl-coenzyme-A-carboxylase activities. A literature review of a total of 8 Randomized Controlled trials (RCTs), 5 Meta analyses consisting of 75 peer-reviewed Randomized Controlled trials (RCTs) on 5319 subjects and 6 population based studies were selected for this study. The research related to Green tea effect on the cholesterol and lipid lowering effect shows promising results with high dose of intake for long term. Studies and meta-analyses of CCRTs in most cases showed improved low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol and total cholesterol level. Green tea consumption was unrelated to serum HDL- cholesterol and triglycerides level in most of the studies. Studies revealed that the theaflavin and thearubigin of black tea significantly reduced the serum concentrations of total and HDL cholesterol on long term use. Though the use of green and black tea was responsible for reducing the triglyceride level in the animal studies but most studies done on human being did not find any significant reduction of serum triglyceride level. Green tea has also been proved to be a natural therapeutic alternative for normalizing the lipid profile found in subjects exposed to DMPA. Key Words: Green Tea, Catechins, black Tea, Theaflavin, Lipid lowering effect.