The Effect of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on Linear Running Sprint Performance, Agility and Vertical Jump Performance in a Rested and Fatigued State

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT03565523

Enrollment

Registered

2018-06-21

Start date

2016-09-01

Completion date

2017-04-30

Last updated

2018-06-21

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Exercise Performance

Brief summary

Dietary nitrate (NO3-) supplementation has been shown to improve skeletal muscle contractility and fatigue resistance, particularly in fast-twitch (type II) muscle fibers. Furthermore, NO3- supplementation has been shown to speed reaction time. Taken together, these findings suggest that NO3- ingestion may be ergogenic during all-out sprint running and reactive agility tasks. Moreover, increasing muscle force production at high contraction speeds would be expected to translate into improved muscle power and, subsequently, improved performance in very explosive forms of exercise, such as vertical jumping. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to assess the effect of short term (5 days) NO3- supplementation on linear running sprint performance, reactive agility and vertical jump performance in a rested and fatigued state.

Interventions

OTHERBeetroot

Containing 385 mg nitrate

OTHERPlacebo beverage

\<0.1 mmol nitrate in sucrose solution with beet coloring

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

CROSSOVER

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 45 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

1. Male and female participants in self-reported good general health as assessed by the standard procedures described below and specifically meeting normal blood pressure range (systolic: 100-135, diastolic: 60-90) and body mass index (BMI) range (16.0-29.9) 2. Range of 18-45 years of age 3. Participants must participate in an intermittent exercise based sport (e.g. soccer, rugby, hockey), at a competitive level (i.e. competes in officiated matches/games). 4. Understanding of the procedures to be undertaken as part of the study 5. Willingness to participate in exercise testing and follow supplementation guidelines and other instructions provided by the experimenter 6. Informed, voluntary, written consent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

1. Known pulmonary, cardiovascular or metabolic disease 2. Food allergies including phenylketonurea (PKU) 3. Current regular use of any dietary supplement (excluding macronutrient based supplements) or previous use of any dietary supplement in the past 6 months that is known to have a lasting effect. 4. Blood donation within 3 months prior to the start of the study 5. Substance abuse within 2 years of the start of the study 6. Smoking 7. Any prescription and non-prescription medication which may impact saliva production (antidepressants, diuretics, analgesics, antihistamines, anti-hyper/hypo-tensives, anti-anxiety, appetite suppressants). 8. Current or previous use of phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors. 9. Participation in another clinical trial within past 4 weeks.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Linear running sprint time	5 days	Linear running sprint in a rested and fatigued state

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026