Related Data for: An isotonic beetroot drink improves muscle oxygenation and cycling time-trial performance in physically active individuals: A randomised crossover trial

Dietary nitrate supplementation can improve exercise performance. This study investigated whether nitrate (beetroot) added to an isotonic drink could improve high-intensity cycling time-trial performance and muscle oxygenation in active individuals. Twenty-four (17 male) physically active participants (mean ± SD; age: 28 ± 5 years; body mass index: 22.6 ± 1.9 kg/m2) completed a double-blind, randomised, crossover study where they consumed 570mL of either isotonic sports drink (ISO-C) or isotonic beetroot drink (ISO-BR) 1 hour before performing preloaded exercise, followed by a 10-km cycling time-trial on a cycle ergometer. Both drinks had equal osmolality (290 mOsm/kg) but differed in nutrients from beetroot extract, particularly nitrate content (ISO-C: 0 mmol, ISO-BR: 12.9 mmol). Salivary total nitrate and nitrite (NOx) 1-hour post-ingestion were significantly higher after consuming ISO-BR than ISO-C (p <.001). ISO-BR significantly improved time-trial performance compared to ISO-C by 6.4% (ISO-BR: 1068.4 ± 333.3 s vs. ISO-C: 1141.0 ± 381.8 s, p <.001), cadence by 3.8% (ISO-BR: 83 ± 6 rpm vs. ISO-C: 80 ± 7 rpm, p <.001) and average load during the time trial by 5.3% (ISO-BR: 153.9 ± 47.7 W vs. ISO-C: 146.2 ± 48.4 W, p <.001). Oxygenated blood (∆O2Hb) was significantly higher (p = .03, partial η2 = .015), and deoxygenated blood (∆HHb) was substantially lower (p = .01, partial η2 = .021) over the trials after ISO-BR supplementation than ISO-C. An ISO-BR drink provided pre-exercise can improve cycling time-trial performance over an ISO-C drink, potentially via increases in NOx.