GABA tea prevents cardiac fibrosis by attenuating TNF-alpha and Fas/FasL-mediated apoptosis in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats

•GABA tea has antihyperglycemic effects in STZ-induced diabetic rats.•GABA tea effectively inhibits cardiac fibrosis induced by STZ.•TNF-α and Fas-mediated apoptosis contribute to fibrosis inhibition of GABA tea.•GABA tea may be useful for developing an anti-diabetic functional food.

GABA tea is a tea product that contains a high level of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). This study investigated the effects of GABA tea on the heart in a diabetic rat model. Male Wistar rats were injected with 55 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) to induce diabetes for 2 weeks and then orally given dosages of 4.55 and 45.5 mg/kg/day GABA tea extract for 6 weeks. The results revealed that fasting blood glucose levels returned to normal levels in GABA tea-treated diabetic rats, but not in the untreated diabetic rats. Additionally, GABA tea effectively inhibited cardiac fibrosis induced by STZ. Further experiments showed that the STZ-induced protein levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), Fas, activated caspase-8 and caspase-3 were significantly inhibited by the GABA tea treatment. Therefore, our data suggest that the inhibiting effect of GABA tea on STZ-induced cardiac fibrosis in diabetic rats may be mediated by reducing blood glucose and further attenuating TNF-alpha expression and/or Fas/Fas ligand (FasL)-mediated apoptosis. These findings will provide implications for the potential anti-diabetic properties of GABA tea.