Abstract: In this paper, the effect of pu’er tea on metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in rats was investigated. A total of 100 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 10 groups for 10 rats in each group. The first group was designated as the control group administered with pure water by gavage. Nine groups were designated as treatment groups with daily oral administration of fermented pu’er tea, unfermented pu’er tea and green tea extract at the dosages of 0.5, 1.0 g/(kg·d) and 2.0 g/(kg·d), respectively. After 90 days consecutive treatment, the rats were sacrificed and metabolic index of pu er tea on calcium and phosphorus in rats were determined. Results indicated that calcium content in stool of each experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P ＜ 0.05). Except for unfermented and fermented pu’er tea groups at high dosage, calcium contents in stool of other experimental groups had no significant difference (P ＞ 0.05), compared with the control group. Compared with the control group, apparent absorption rates of calcium and phosphorus in experimental groups had no significant difference (P＞0.05). Therefore, the moderate consumption of fermented pu’er tea, unfermented pu’er tea and green tea had no effect on metabolism of calcium and phosphorus in rats.

Key words: pu’er tea, calcium, phosphorus, metabolism, rats