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Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort

Amanda J. Lloyd Orcid Logo, MJ Pilar Martinez-Martin Orcid Logo, Alina Warren-Walker, Matthew Hitchings Orcid Logo, Odin M. Moron-Garcia Orcid Logo, Alison Watson, Bernardo Villarreal-Ramos, Laura Lyons, Thomas Wilson Orcid Logo, Gordon Allison Orcid Logo, Manfred Beckmann

Metabolites, Volume: 15, Issue: 2, Start page: 139

Swansea University Author: Matthew Hitchings Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.3390/metabo15020139

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and dyslipidaemia is one of the major risk factors. The widespread use of herbs and medicinal plants in traditional medicine has garnered increasing recognition as a valuable resource for increasing wel...

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Published in: Metabolites
ISSN: 2218-1989
Published: MDPI AG 2025
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa68989
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Several epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that altering blood lipid profiles and maintaining gut homeostasis may protect against cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A randomised, active-controlled parallel human clinical trial (n = 52) with three herbal tea infusions (green (Camellia sinensis) tea with rhubarb root, green tea with senna, and active control green tea) daily for 21 days in a free-living healthy adult cohort was conducted to assess the potential for health benefits in terms of plasma lipids and gut health. Paired plasma samples were analysed using Afinion lipid panels (total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol) and paired stool samples were analysed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to determine bacterial diversity within the gut microbiome. Results: Among participants providing fasting blood samples before and after the intervention (n = 47), consumption of herbal rhubarb root tea and green tea significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol (p &amp;lt; 0.05) in plasma after 21 days of daily consumption when compared with concentrations before the intervention. No significant change was observed in the senna tea group. In participants providing stool samples (n = 48), no significant differences in overall microbial composition were observed between pre- and post-intervention, even at the genus level. While no significant changes in overall microbial composition were observed, specific bacterial genera, such as Dorea spp., showed correlations with LDL cholesterol concentrations, suggesting potential microbiota-mediated effects of tea consumption. Diet and BMI was maintained in each of the three groups before and after the trial. Conclusions: It was found that drinking a cup of rhubarb root herbal or green tea infusion for 21 days produced beneficial effects on lipid profiles and maintained gut eubiosis without observable adverse effects in a healthy human cohort. 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spelling 2025-02-28T10:40:23.8291974 v2 68989 2025-02-28 Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf 0000-0002-5527-4709 Matthew Hitchings Matthew Hitchings true false 2025-02-28 MEDS Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and dyslipidaemia is one of the major risk factors. The widespread use of herbs and medicinal plants in traditional medicine has garnered increasing recognition as a valuable resource for increasing wellness and reducing the onset of disease. Several epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that altering blood lipid profiles and maintaining gut homeostasis may protect against cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A randomised, active-controlled parallel human clinical trial (n = 52) with three herbal tea infusions (green (Camellia sinensis) tea with rhubarb root, green tea with senna, and active control green tea) daily for 21 days in a free-living healthy adult cohort was conducted to assess the potential for health benefits in terms of plasma lipids and gut health. Paired plasma samples were analysed using Afinion lipid panels (total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol) and paired stool samples were analysed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to determine bacterial diversity within the gut microbiome. Results: Among participants providing fasting blood samples before and after the intervention (n = 47), consumption of herbal rhubarb root tea and green tea significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol (p &lt; 0.05) in plasma after 21 days of daily consumption when compared with concentrations before the intervention. No significant change was observed in the senna tea group. In participants providing stool samples (n = 48), no significant differences in overall microbial composition were observed between pre- and post-intervention, even at the genus level. While no significant changes in overall microbial composition were observed, specific bacterial genera, such as Dorea spp., showed correlations with LDL cholesterol concentrations, suggesting potential microbiota-mediated effects of tea consumption. Diet and BMI was maintained in each of the three groups before and after the trial. Conclusions: It was found that drinking a cup of rhubarb root herbal or green tea infusion for 21 days produced beneficial effects on lipid profiles and maintained gut eubiosis without observable adverse effects in a healthy human cohort. More studies are needed to fully understand the effects of rhubarb root and green tea in fatty acid metabolism and gut microbial composition. Journal Article Metabolites 15 2 139 MDPI AG 2218-1989 Camellia sinensis; rhubarb root; plasma lipids; 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing; cholesterol; low-density lipoprotein; intervention trial 19 2 2025 2025-02-19 10.3390/metabo15020139 COLLEGE NANME Medical School COLLEGE CODE MEDS Swansea University Another institution paid the OA fee Funded by Welsh Government Covid Recovery Challenge Fund (part of the Welsh Government’s Food and Drink Division funding), alongside Innovate UK Better Food for all (10068218), and BBSRC OIRC RIPEN Innovation Hub and Biofortification Hub. 2025-02-28T10:40:23.8291974 2025-02-28T10:31:14.3398405 Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science Amanda J. Lloyd 0000-0002-0775-3537 1 MJ Pilar Martinez-Martin 0000-0002-5859-6113 2 Alina Warren-Walker 3 Matthew Hitchings 0000-0002-5527-4709 4 Odin M. Moron-Garcia 0000-0002-5275-4520 5 Alison Watson 6 Bernardo Villarreal-Ramos 7 Laura Lyons 8 Thomas Wilson 0000-0003-3112-4682 9 Gordon Allison 0000-0002-9575-8839 10 Manfred Beckmann 11 68989__33706__90c4b1f30d7144e481548803a1e57b6b.pdf 68989.VOR.pdf 2025-02-28T10:35:58.9530381 Output 991596 application/pdf Version of Record true © 2025 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
title Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
spellingShingle Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
Matthew Hitchings
title_short Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
title_full Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
title_fullStr Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
title_full_unstemmed Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
title_sort Green Tea with Rhubarb Root Reduces Plasma Lipids While Preserving Gut Microbial Stability in a Healthy Human Cohort
author_id_str_mv be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf
author_id_fullname_str_mv be98847c72c14a731c4a6b7bc02b3bcf_***_Matthew Hitchings
author Matthew Hitchings
author2 Amanda J. Lloyd
MJ Pilar Martinez-Martin
Alina Warren-Walker
Matthew Hitchings
Odin M. Moron-Garcia
Alison Watson
Bernardo Villarreal-Ramos
Laura Lyons
Thomas Wilson
Gordon Allison
Manfred Beckmann
format Journal article
container_title Metabolites
container_volume 15
container_issue 2
container_start_page 139
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
issn 2218-1989
doi_str_mv 10.3390/metabo15020139
publisher MDPI AG
college_str Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofmedicinehealthandlifesciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
department_str Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences{{{_:::_}}}Swansea University Medical School - Biomedical Science
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description Background/Objectives: Cardiovascular diseases remain a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, and dyslipidaemia is one of the major risk factors. The widespread use of herbs and medicinal plants in traditional medicine has garnered increasing recognition as a valuable resource for increasing wellness and reducing the onset of disease. Several epidemiologic and clinical studies have shown that altering blood lipid profiles and maintaining gut homeostasis may protect against cardiovascular diseases. Methods: A randomised, active-controlled parallel human clinical trial (n = 52) with three herbal tea infusions (green (Camellia sinensis) tea with rhubarb root, green tea with senna, and active control green tea) daily for 21 days in a free-living healthy adult cohort was conducted to assess the potential for health benefits in terms of plasma lipids and gut health. Paired plasma samples were analysed using Afinion lipid panels (total cholesterol, LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol) and paired stool samples were analysed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to determine bacterial diversity within the gut microbiome. Results: Among participants providing fasting blood samples before and after the intervention (n = 47), consumption of herbal rhubarb root tea and green tea significantly lowered total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol (p &lt; 0.05) in plasma after 21 days of daily consumption when compared with concentrations before the intervention. No significant change was observed in the senna tea group. In participants providing stool samples (n = 48), no significant differences in overall microbial composition were observed between pre- and post-intervention, even at the genus level. While no significant changes in overall microbial composition were observed, specific bacterial genera, such as Dorea spp., showed correlations with LDL cholesterol concentrations, suggesting potential microbiota-mediated effects of tea consumption. Diet and BMI was maintained in each of the three groups before and after the trial. Conclusions: It was found that drinking a cup of rhubarb root herbal or green tea infusion for 21 days produced beneficial effects on lipid profiles and maintained gut eubiosis without observable adverse effects in a healthy human cohort. More studies are needed to fully understand the effects of rhubarb root and green tea in fatty acid metabolism and gut microbial composition.
published_date 2025-02-19T05:25:46Z
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score 11.089572

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