Hydroxyl radical-mediated oxidative modification of <i>Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze</i> cell-wall polysaccharides alleviates obesity by modulating glucose and lipid metabolism

Due to the structural rigidity of tea cell walls and low solubility of their polysaccharides (TCWPs), along with unclear anti-obesity potential, this study extracted TCWPs via a novel hydroxyl radical oxidation. Using a high-fat diet-induced obesity model, we performed preventive intervention studies to systematically assess TCWPs' regulatory effects on key biochemical indicators of glucose and lipid metabolism. Furthermore, transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses were performed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. The results demonstrated that TCWPs significantly reduced the levels of triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, insulin, and SGLT1 in obese mice, while increasing high-density lipoprotein levels and enhancing glucokinase and pyruvate kinase activity (P < 0.05). Transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses revealed that TCWPs ameliorated the abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism by regulating the expression level of key genes such as Pck1, Sik1, and Cds2 (P < 0.05), as well as the key metabolites such as 1-palmitoyl-2-linoleoyl-glycophosphorylcholine (down-regulated) by modulating the linoleic acid metabolism pathway and betaine (up-regulated) by activating the AMPK signaling pathway. TCWPs extracted by the hydroxyl radical-based method can ameliorate the metabolic disorders of glucose and lipids in obese mice.