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The effect of caffeine, green tea and tyrosine on thermogenesis and energy intake

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 63, pages 57–64 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

Objectives:

To investigate the effect of three different food ingredients tyrosine, green tea extract (GTE) and caffeine on resting metabolic rate and haemodynamics, and on ad libitum energy intake (EI) and appetite.

Methods:

Twelve healthy, normal weight men (age: 23.7±2.6 years, mean±s.d.) participated in a four-way crossover, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study. Treatments were administered as tablets of 500 mg GTE, 400 mg tyrosine, 50 mg caffeine, or placebo, and were separated by >3-day washout. The acute thermogenic response was measured in a ventilated hood system for 4 h following ingestion. Blood pressure, heart rate (HR), and subjective appetite sensations were assessed hourly and ad libitum EI 4 h post-dose.

Results:

Caffeine induced a thermogenic response of 6% above baseline value (72±25 kJ per 4 h, mean±s.e.) compared to placebo (P<0.0001). The thermogenic responses to GTE and tyrosine were not significantly different from placebo. Tyrosine tended to increase 4-h respiratory quotient by 1% compared to placebo (0.01±0.005, P=0.05). Ad libitum EI was not significantly different between treatments but was reduced by 8% (−403±183 kJ), 8% (−400±335 kJ) and 3% (−151±377 kJ) compared to placebo after intake of tyrosine, GTE and caffeine, respectively. No significant difference in haemodynamics was observed between treatments.

Conclusions:

Only caffeine was thermogenic in the given dose and caused no haemodynamic side effects. The sample size was probably too small to detect any appetite suppressant properties of the treatments. Further investigations are required.

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Acknowledgements

We thank John Lind for his expert technical assistance and Jens Kondrup for critical reading of the manuscript. The study was supported by a grant from Science, Toxicology & Technology, San Francisco, CA, USA. The dietary supplements containing the ingredients examined in the present paper were manufactured by Alpine Health Products, Salt Lake City, UT, USA, and are not commercially available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Nutrition, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A Belza, S Toubro & A Astrup

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  1. A Belza
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  2. S Toubro
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  3. A Astrup
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Correspondence to A Belza.

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Belza, A., Toubro, S. & Astrup, A. The effect of caffeine, green tea and tyrosine on thermogenesis and energy intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 63, 57–64 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602901

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602901

Keywords

  • energy expenditure
  • energy intake
  • appetite
  • tyrosine
  • caffeine
  • green tea

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