Effects of Oolong Tea Supplementation on Lipid Peroxidation of Athletes at Rest and Post-exhaustive Exercise

ABSTRACT: Oolong tea contains polyphenolic catechins that can act as antioxidants and improve blood lipid status. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a daily intake of Oolong tea for 30 d on the cholesterol profiles, lipid peroxidation level, and superoxide dismutase activity in athletes before and after exhaustive exercise. Twenty-two male rugby players served as the experiment subjects. They were divided into 2 groups: the tea-supplement group and control group. The results showed that there was a significant increase in total plasma cholesterol for both groups after training. There were no significant differences in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol level and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol level after tea supplementation. However, ingestion of Oolong tea resulted in significantly lower resting and post-exhaustive exercise level of plasma malondialdehyde, and significantly lower resting level of superoxide dismutase activity. The results suggest that supplementation with Oolong tea for rugby players can decrease oxidative stress, and this can be explained by the decrease of lipid peroxidation level in cooperation with Oolong tea supplementation against the free radicals.