Exogenous spraying of sucrose improves sensory quality, bioactive components content and anti-obesity activity of Tieguanyin oolong tea

Exogenous spraying sucrose was applied to cultivated Tieguanyin cultivar plants to explore its effect on the quality, components, anti-obesity activity and potential mechanism of treated Tieguanyin tea (RTGYT). The results indicated that RTGYT had higher sensory quality with the tea infusion more red and yellow, and higher content of bioactive components compared with untreated Tieguanyin tea (TGYT). Further study indicated that both RTGYT and TGYT could exert anti-obesity effect by reducing weight and excess fat accumulation and ameliorating inflammation and glucose tolerance. And RTGYT had more efficient anti-obesity activity than TGYT. The underlying mechanism might involve effective regulation of the expression lipometabolism-related genes and amelioration of HFD-induced gut microbial dysbiosis. Our study supported better understanding of exogenous spraying sugar on the quality, components, and bioactivity of tea and can enhance nutritive value and beneficial property of Tieguanyin tea.