The drink reduces levels of bacteria that are linked obesity.
Both black tea and green tea are linked to weight loss, studies find.
Four cups of green tea per day can lead to 5.5 pounds of weight loss, without making changes to exercise or diet, a previous study has shown.
Black tea, meanwhile, helps to change energy metabolism in the liver and can be beneficial to bacteria in the gut.
Both types of tea reduce levels of bacteria that are linked obesity.
In the current study, some mice were fed a black tea extract along with a high-fat diet while others were fed just a low-fat diet.
Those fed the black tea extract, the results showed, weighed the same as those fed the low-fat diet.
Green tea also had a similar effect.
Dr Susanne Henning, the study’s first author, said:
“It was known that green tea polyphenols are more effective and offer more health benefits than black tea polyphenols since green tea chemicals are absorbed into the blood and tissue.
Our new findings suggest that black tea, through a specific mechanism through the gut microbiome, may also contribute to good health and weight loss in humans.
The results suggest that both green and black teas are prebiotics, substances that induce the growth of good microorganisms that contribute to a person’s well-being.”
The main active ingredients in teas are called catechins, which are antioxidants.
The most important of these is called Epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or EGCG.
Green teas usually contain more EGCG.
The result of this study suggest that green and black teas are beneficial beyond the antioxidants they contain.
They also have a positive effect on the gut microbiome.
Dr Zhaoping Li, study co-author, said:
“For black tea lovers, there may be a new reason to keep drinking it.”
The study was published in the European Journal of Nutrition (Henning et al., 2017).
