Effects of Single-Dose Dietary Nitrate on Oxygen Consumption During and After Maximal and Submaximal Exercise in Healthy Humans: A Pilot Study

Dietary nitrate (NO(3)(−)) has been shown to reduce oxygen consumption (VO(2)) during moderate to high-intensity (e.g. time to fatigue, time trials) exercise and often in trained athletes. However, less is known regarding prolonged exercise and the potential impact of NO(3)(−) on post-exercise excess oxygen consumption (EPOC), particularly in untrained individuals, who may have different metabolic goals during exercise than trained individuals. We tested the hypothesis that acute nitrate supplementation in the form of beet root juice will significantly decrease both VO(2) during maximal exercise and EPOC in both maximal and submaximal exercise trials. Eight young, moderately active, healthy males (age: 24.8±1.4 years, body mass index: 23.7±0.4 kg/m(2); VO(2)max: 34.2±3.9 ml/kg/min) performed step-wise maximal cycle exercise (n=4) and prolonged submaximal cycle exercise (n=6) (45 min; 38±2% of max work rate) in control (anti-bacterial mouthwash) and acute NO(3)(−) supplemented conditions [70ml concentrated beet root juice (0.4g NO(3)(−)), 2 hrs prior to exercise] on separate occasions. Measurements of VO(2) (indirect calorimetry), arterial blood pressure (MAP; sphygmomanometry), and heart rate (HR; ECG) were made before, during, and following exercise bouts. NO(3)(−) reduced MAP at rest ~1–3mmHg. However, NO(3)(−) had no impact on VO(2) during maximal (VO(2)max, Ctrl: 34.2±3.9 ml/kg/min vs NO(3)(−): 31.7±4.4 ml/kg/min), submaximal exercise (average of min 25–45, Ctrl: 24.6±2.4 ml/kg/min vs NO(3)(−): 26.8±3.3 ml/kg/min) or EPOC (area under the curve, Ctrl: 0.57±0.24 L vs NO(3)(−): 0.66±0.16 L). Thus, while NO(3)(−) supplementation may have performance benefits in elite athletes exercising at high intensities, in recreationally active males, there appears to be little impact on changes in VO(2) due to maximal or submaximal prolonged exercise.