Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2022 Jul 11;14(14):2839.
doi: 10.3390/nu14142839.

Acute Beetroot Juice Supplementation Enhances Intermittent Running Performance but Does Not Reduce Oxygen Cost of Exercise among Recreational Adults

Ozcan Esen  1   2 , Raúl Domínguez  3 , Raci Karayigit  4
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Acute Beetroot Juice Supplementation Enhances Intermittent Running Performance but Does Not Reduce Oxygen Cost of Exercise among Recreational Adults

Ozcan Esen et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Nitrate (NO3−) supplementation has been reported to enhance intermittent exercise performance; however, its impact on oxygen (O2) cost during intermittent running exercise is unclear. The aim of this study was to assess if acute NO3− supplementation would elicit performance benefits in recreationally active individuals during the Yo−Yo intermittent recovery level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1) test, with its potential benefit on O2 consumption (VO2), in a double-blind, randomized, crossover study, 12 recreational males consumed NO3−-rich (NIT; ~12.8 mmol), and NO3−-depleted (PLA; 0.04 mmol) concentrated beetroot juice 3 h before completing the Yo-Yo IR1 test. VO2 was measured at 160, 280 and 440 m (sub-maximal) and when the test was terminated (peak). Performance in the Yo−Yo IR1 was greater with NIT (990 ± 442.25 m) compared to PLA (870 ± 357.4 m, p = 0.007). The VO2 was not significantly different at 160 m (1.92 ± 0.99 vs. 2.1 ± 0.88 L·min−1), 280 m (2.62 ± 0.94 vs. 2.83 ± 0.94 L·min−1), 440 m (3.26 ± 1.04 vs. 3.46 ± 0.98 L·min−1) and peak (4.71 ± 1.01 vs. 4.92 ± 1.17 L·min−1) between NIT and PLA trials (all p > 0.05). The present study has indicated that acute supplementation of NO3− enhanced intermittent running performance but had no effect on VO2 during the Yo−Yo IR1 test in recreational young adults.

Keywords: beetroot juice; ergogenic aid; exercise performance; nitric oxide; sports nutrition.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The distance covered in the Yo–Yo IR1 test was 14% greater with NIT compared to PLA. The dashed lines indicate the responses of individual participants. The solid line indicates the group mean (±SD). * p < 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relative (A) and absolute (B) pulmonary oxygen consumption (VO2), and absolute carbon dioxide production (VCO2) (C) responses during the Yo–Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test following dietary nitrate and placebo supplementation. Data are mean ± SD.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jones A.M., Thompson C., Wylie L.J., Vanhatalo A. Dietary nitrate and physical performance. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 2018;38:303–328. doi: 10.1146/annurev-nutr-082117-051622. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bailey S.J., Fulford J., Vanhatalo A., Winyard P.G., Blackwell J.R., DiMenna F.J., Wilkerson D.P., Benjamin N., Jones A.M. Dietary nitrate supplementation enhances muscle contractile efficiency during knee-extensor exercise in humans. J. Appl. Physiol. 2010;109:135–148. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00046.2010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Larsen F.J., Schiffer T.A., Borniquel S., Sahlin K., Ekblom B., Lundberg J.O., Weitzberg E. Dietary inorganic nitrate improves mitochondrial efficiency in humans. Cell Metab. 2011;13:149–159. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2011.01.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Vanhatalo A., Bailey S.J., Blackwell J.R., DiMenna F.J., Pavey T.G., Wilkerson D.P., Benjamin N., Winyard P.G., Jones A.M. Acute and chronic effects of dietary nitrate supplementation on blood pressure and the physiological responses to moderate-intensity and incremental exercise. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 2010;299:R1121–R1131. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00206.2010. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Esen O., Nicholas C., Morris M., Bailey S.J. No effect of beetroot juice supplementation on 100-m and 200-m swimming performance in moderately trained swimmers. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform. 2019;14:706–710. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0654. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources