IMR Press / IJVNR / Volume 94 / Issue 5-6 / DOI: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000799

International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research (IJVNR) is published by IMR Press from Volume 95 Issue 1 (2025). Previous articles were published by another publisher under a hybrid publishing model, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Hogrefe.

Original Communication

Effects of dietary nitrate and vitamin C co-ingestion on blood pressure and hand-grip strength in young adults

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Affiliation
1 School of Life Sciences, The University of Nottingham Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham, UK.
2 Department of Physiology, College of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
3 College of Medicine, University of Al-Mustansiriyah, Baghdad, Iraq.
4 School of Medicine, The University of Nottingham Medical School, Derby Hospital, UK.
5 School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
6 Dementia Centre of Excellence, enAble Institute, Curtin University, Perth, Australia.
Int. J. Vitam. Nutr. Res. 2024, 94(5-6), 342–353; https://doi.org/10.1024/0300-9831/a000799
Submitted: 19 July 2023 | Accepted: 24 October 2023 | Published: 8 November 2023
Abstract

Background: Co-administration of vitamin C and inorganic nitrate () may reduce oxidative stress, boost the conversion of nitrite () into NO and elicit positive vascular effects. Aims: We aimed to test the effects of oral inorganic  and vitamin C co-supplementation on vascular function, muscular strength, and on concentrations of urinary , vitamin C, 8-isoprostanes and salivary  in healthy young adults. Methods: Ten young healthy participants were enrolled in a randomised, double-blind (only for the  intervention) crossover clinical trial. Participants consumed in random order: 1) nitrate-rich beetroot juice and vitamin C (N+VC), 2) nitrate-rich beetroot juice alone (N) or 3) nitrate-depleted beetroot juice alone (ND). Resting blood pressure (BP) was measured at the research centre and at home. Non-invasive, continuous measurements of BP and cardiac function parameters were performed using a Finometer device. Free-living physical activity and hand-grip strength were assessed. Salivary  and  and urinary , 8-isoprostanes and vitamin C concentrations were measured. Results: There were no significant differences for any of the vascular outcomes between the three interventions groups. However, analyses of within-intervention changes showed a significant lower daily systolic BP in the +vitamin C (N+VC) group only (P=0.04). Urinary  (P=0.002) and salivary  (P=0.001) were significantly higher in the N+VC group compared to the N and ND groups. Conclusion: These preliminary findings suggest that combining dietary  with vitamin C could have protective effects on vascular function in young adults and could represent an effective strategy for the maintenance of healthy cardiovascular trajectories.

Keywords
nitrate
blood pressure
vitamin C
muscular strength
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