Chronic Consumption of Kombucha and Black Tea Prevents Weight Loss in Diabetic Rats

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease which affects many organ systems in the body and is associated with a progressive weight loss. Many diabetic patients used to consume herbal remedies to relieve their symptoms. Black tea and its fermented remedy which is made by cultivating the Kombucha mushroom in a mixture of warm tea and sugar are widely used by diabetic patients throughout the world. In this study, the effect of chronic consumption of black and Kombucha tea on weight loss was investigated in diabetic Rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study Streptozotocin (60 mg/kg) was used to induce diabetes mellitus in rats and blood glucose higher than 300 mg/dl was considered as the criterion for the diabetes induction. Control animals received tap water while the sham and test groups consumed sweet black tea solution and different diluents of Kombucha tea solution (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%), respectively for 15 days as their drink. Animals weight was measured before DM induction and on days 1, 3, 7 and 15 after DM induction. Data were analyzed as mean ± SEM on different days and in different groups by using T-test and one-way ANOVA. RESULTS: All diabetic animals showed a significant weight loss (P < 0.05) which continued progressively in control group, but in animals consuming black or Kombucha tea, there was a progressive weight gain during the experimental procedure, so at the end of the experiment, the animals weight in these groups was the same as their weight before DM induction ( P > 0.05). At the end of this experiment there was no significant difference in the animals weight in black and Kombucha tea groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: According to our findings both black and Kombucha tea induce weigh gain in diabetic rats which may be due to some antidiabetic agents in these remedies.