Abstract
The application of polyphenols has attracted great interest in the field of functional foods and nutraceuticals due to their potential health benefits
in humans. However, the effectiveness of polyphenols depends on their bioactivity and bioavailability. In the present study, the bioactive component
from green tea extract (GTE) was administrated orally (50 mg/kg body weight/day) as free or in a microencapsulated form with maltodextrin in
rats fed a high fructose diet. High fructose diet induced features of metabolic syndrome including hypertriglyceridemia, hyperuricemia, increased
serum total cholesterol, and retroperitoneal obesity. In addition, myocardial fibrosis was increased. In rats receiving high fructose diet, the lowering
of blood triglycerides, total cholesterol, non esterified fatty acid (NEFA) and uric acid, as well as the reduction in final body weight and retroperitoneal
fat weight associated with the administration of GTE, led to a reversal of the features of metabolic syndrome (P < 0.05). In particular, the administration
of microencapsulated GTE decreased myocardial fibrosis and increased liver catalase activity consistent with a further alleviation of serum NEFA,
and hyperuricemia compared to administration of GTE. Taken together, our results suggest that microencapsulation of the bioactive components
of GTE might have a protective effect on cardiovasucular system by attenuating the adverse features of myocardial fibrosis, decreasing uric acid
levels and increasing hepatic catalase activity effectively by protecting their bioactivities.