The Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Explosive Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review

Rachel Tan, Leire Cano, Ángel Lago-Rodríguez and Raúl Domínguez
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Rachel Tan: Faculty of Sports Medicine, Natural Sciences Division, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CA 90263, USA
Leire Cano: Independent Researcher, 48991 Getxo, Spain
Ángel Lago-Rodríguez: Movement, Brain and Health Group, Center of Higher Education Alberta Giménez, 07013 Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Raúl Domínguez: Departamento de Motricidad Humana y Rendimiento, Universidad de Sevilla, 41013 Sevilla, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 2, 1-20

Abstract: Dietary nitrate supplementation is evidenced to induce physiological effects on skeletal muscle function in fast-twitch muscle fibers and may enhance high-intensity exercise performance. An important component of sport-specific skills is the ability to perform explosive movements; however, it is unclear if nitrate supplementation can impact explosive efforts. We examined the existing evidence to determine whether nitrate supplementation improves explosive efforts lasting ≤ 6 s. PubMed, Scopus and Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) were searched for articles using the following search strategy: (nitrate OR nitrite OR beetroot) AND (supplement OR supplementation) AND (explosive OR power OR high intensity OR high-intensity OR sprint* OR “athletic performance”). Out of 810 studies, 18 were eligible according to inclusion criteria. Results showed that 4 of the 10 sprint-type studies observed improved sprint time, power output, and total work in cycling or running, whereas 4 of the 10 resistance-based exercise studies observed improvements to power and velocity of free-weight bench press as well as isokinetic knee extension and flexion at certain angular velocities. These results suggest that nitrate potentially improves explosive exercise performance, but further work is required to clarify the factors influencing the efficacy of nitrate in different exercise modalities.

Keywords: beetroot juice; ergogenic aid; power; sports nutrition; muscle; nitric oxide (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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