Inhibition of Cholesterol Synthesis by Green and Black Tea

As our current studies indicate that tea extracts cause the activation of AMP-kinase to suppress HMG-CoA reductase activity, the objectives of this proposal are to determine if tea extracts directly activate AMP-kinase, or if upstream signaling pathways are involved; and to determine if tea suppresses cholesterol synthesis in vivo. These studies should delineate the intracellular mechanism by which tea compounds suppress cholesterol synthesis, and elucidate the extent to which suppression of cholesterol synthesis contributes to the hypocholesterolemic effect of green and black tea.