| The aim of this study was to evaluate the impacts of 9 weeks of Wuyi rock tea intake on the composition and metabolites of intestinal microflora in SPF rats, and the serum antioxidant capacity and lipids levels of rats were also investigated, which could provide a new idea and evidence for further study on nutrition and health benefits of Wuyi rock tea.After one week of adaptation period (all rats were provided with fresh deionized water), a total of 20 SPF male adult SD rats were randomly divided into the control group and the Wuyi rock tea group (n=10/group). The rats in Wuyi rock tea group were provided with fresh Wuyi rock tea, while the rats in control group were provided with fresh deionized water throughout the trial. The trial lasted 9 weeks, during which tea and water were freely available to rats. At the end of adaptation period (as 0 week),6th week and 9th week of trial period, fresh fecal samples of rats were collected and analyzed for microflora composition (including the population of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, E-coli and C.perfringens with colony counting method and overall composition analysis with DGGE method) and metabolites (including short chain fatty acid determination with HPLC and bacterial enzymes determination with ELISA). Then after anesthesia, blood samples were draw from heart of all rats and analyzed for serum antioxidant indicators and lipids levels.Results indicated that 9 weeks of Wuyi rock tea intake resulted in a significant reduction in fecal counts of E.coli (P<0.05) while counts of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, and C.perfringens were close to the control group. The DGGE profiles indicated that Wuyi rock tea slightly affected the composition of the dominant intestinal microflora in SD rats however the change was not significant, while almost no change was found in Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) group. Compared with the rats in control group, a remarkable increase of fecal acetate was found in the rats in Wuyi rock tea group (P<0.05), however propionate, butyrate, total SCFAs production and pH values were not altered significantly. In addition, fecal β-glucuronidase activity of rats in Wuyi rock tea group was 14.66% lower than that of rats in control group, while the P-glucosidase acvtivity was 3.80% higher. For lipids and antioxidant levels analysis, the results showed that serum triglyceride (TG) was 18.42% lower when treated with Wuyi rock tea, while there was no statistical difference was found in total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels between two groups. And compared with the rats in control group, the serum glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) level in rats of Wuyi rock tea group was higher, while malonaldehyde (MDA) was lower (P<0.05 for both indicators), which indicated that Wuyi rock tea could improve the antioxidant capability in vivo.In conclusion, the intake of Wuyi rock tea for 9 weeks could inhibit the growth of E.coli, while Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus were less sensitive to Wuyi rock tea intake. Besides, Wuyi rock tea could effect acetate pruduction in rat intestine and improve the antioxidant capability in vivo. Therefore, daily intake of Wuyi rock tea may regulate intestinal microflora, alter the intestinal environment and improve blood antioxidant levels. |
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