The Effect of Nitrate Supplementation on Sportive Performance

Abstract

Beetroot juice is typically used as a source of dietary nitrate supplementation, which has been hailed as a potential new ergogenic aid for athletic and exercise performance. A 0.6% performance boost is now deemed adequate to make a difference due to the rise in competitive equality in top-level sport especially. The aim of this study is to examine the effects of nitrate supplementation on sports performance and to reveal the mechanisms of action. For that, information from the publications evaluated throughout the scope of SCI, SCI-Expanded, and ESCI were collected by scanning the literature in the SportDiscus, EMBASE, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases over a 10-year period. According to literature, it has been stated that nitrate supplementation provides vasodilation, triggers mitochondrial biogenesis, glucose uptake, and calcium transport from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. Nitrate supplementation has been demonstrated to have physiological effects that may be advantageous for improving exercise performance, at least in recreationally active or sub-elite athletes.