Beet the cold: Beetroot juice supplementation improves peripheral blood flow, endothelial function and anti-inflammatory status in individuals with Raynaud’s phenomenon.
posted on 2019-07-19, 10:28authored byAnthony I. Shepherd, Joseph T. Costello, Stephen BaileyStephen Bailey, Nicolette BishopNicolette Bishop, Alexander J. Wadley, Steven Young-Min, Mark Gilchrist, Harry Mayes, Danny White, Paul Gorczynski, Zoe L. Saynor, Heather Massey, Clare Elgin
Raynaud’s phenomenon (RP) is characterised by recurrent transient peripheral vasospasm and lower nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability in the cold. We investigated the effect of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BJ) supplementation on i) NO-mediated vasodilation, ii) cutaneous vascular conductance (CVC) and skin temperature (Tsk) following local cooling and iii) systemic anti-inflammatory status.
Following baseline testing, twenty-three individuals with RP attended four times, in a double-blind, randomized crossover design, following acute and chronic (14 days) BJ and nitrate-depleted beetroot juice (NDBJ) supplementation. Peripheral Tsk and CVC were measured during and after mild hand and foot cooling, and during transdermal delivery of acetylcholine and sodium nitroprusside. Markers of anti-inflammatory status were also measured.
Plasma [nitrite] was increased in the BJ conditions (P < 0.001). Compared to the baseline visit, thumb CVC was greater following chronic-BJ (Δ2.0 flux·mmHg-1, P = 0.02) and chronic-NDBJ (Δ1.45 flux·mmHg-1, P = 0.01) supplementation; however, no changes in Tsk were observed (P > 0.05). Plasma [interleukin-10] was greater, pan endothelin and systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP) were reduced, and forearm endothelial function was improved ,by both BR and NDBJ supplementation (P < 0.05).
Acute and chronic BJ and NDBJ supplementation improved anti-inflammatory status, endothelial function and BP. CVC following cooling increased post chronic-BJ and chronic-NDBJ supplementation, but no effect on Tsk was observed.
History
School
Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences
Published in
Journal of Applied Physiology
Volume
127
Issue
5
Pages
1478 - 1490
Citation
SHEPHERD, A.I. .... et al., 2019. Beet the cold: Beetroot juice supplementation improves peripheral blood flow, endothelial function and anti-inflammatory status in individuals with Raynaud’s phenomenon. Journal of Applied Physiology, 127 (5), pp.1478-1490.
This paper was accepted for publication in the journal Journal of Applied Physiology and the definitive published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00292.2019