Choi, H. S., Jeon, Y. N., Lim, C. H., Kim, C. K., & Park, S. J. (2014). Effect of dietary nitrate supplementation in the early stage of acclimatization in moderate hypoxia. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 46(5), Supplement abstract number 1559.

This study investigated the effect of dietary nitrate supplementation on the early stages of acclimatization during exercise in moderate hypoxia in healthy males (N = 8). Ss ingested 250 ml of beetroot juice (750 ml) and placebo at 24 hours, 12 hours, and 2.5 hours before the experiment. Incremental exercise was performed on treadmill in a normobaric hypoxic chamber (14.5% O2).

Plasma nitrate increased significantly in the beetroot-juice group compared to the placebo group in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. In the normoxic condition, plasma nitrate increased in the beetroot juice and exercised group, and was unchanged in the placebo group, whereas it was unchanged in the beetroot juice group and exercised group in hypoxia. However, exercise time to exhaustion was longer in the beetroot-exercised group than in the placebo group in the hypoxic condition. There was no difference between the groups in the normoxic condition.

Implication. Dietary nitrate supplementation increased plasma nitrate concentration in both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, and may be helpful for the early stages of acclimatization to altitude.

Return to Table of Contents for this issue.