Suntheanine® May Have Weight Loss-Inducing Effects

Suntheanine® May Have Weight Loss-Inducing Effects

MINNEAPOLISNew researchsuggests Suntheanine®, a pure Ltheanine, consumed alone or in combination withcaffeine, prevents body weight and abdominal fat gaincompared to a controldiet lacking any green tea componentswithout any apparent effect on appetite,according to a recent study published in the journal InVivo (18:55-62, 2004). In the study, researchersassessed the weight loss-inducing effects of green tea and several of itsconstituents, alone and in combination, in young mice.

We were curious about the individual contributions of greentea constituents to weight loss, said Kazutoshi Sayama, Ph.D., of ShizuokaUniversity, one of the co-investigators of the study.

Lekh Raj Juneja, Ph.D., another co-investigator in the studyand vice president of Taiyo Kagaku Co. Ltd (www.taiyoint.com), the manufacturerof Suntheanine, added the mice fed Suntheanine ate less. Of the 10 differentdietary treatments, the greatest trend for reduced food intake was seen withL-theanine added to the diet, he said. We know that Ltheanine may have aneffect on brain chemistry and these results seem to align with this.

Previous animal studies have shown a combination of green teacatechins with or without caffeine to have possible antiobesity effects,possibly exerted through increased thermogenesis.