Vivian Dos Santos Pinheiro, David N Proctor, Rogerio Nogueira Soares, Thiago Silveira Alvares
{"title":"Effect of 12-wk dietary nitrate supplementation on carotid arterial stiffness in postmenopausal females.","authors":"Vivian Dos Santos Pinheiro, David N Proctor, Rogerio Nogueira Soares, Thiago Silveira Alvares","doi":"10.1152/ajpheart.00065.2025","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Menopause is associated with reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, a key contributor to increased arterial stiffness and, consequently, greater risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality in postmenopausal females. Even though dietary nitrate has been shown to increase NO bioavailability in postmenopausal females acutely, previous studies showed no impact of dietary nitrate supplementation on arterial stiffness in postmenopausal females. Their findings were likely limited by the acute and/or short-term design. Thus, this study aimed to determine whether 12 wk of dietary nitrate supplementation via beetroot extract improves carotid artery stiffness in postmenopausal females. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel-design trial was conducted with 20 postmenopausal females (60-85 yr). Participants received nitrate-rich (NR-BEETx, 8.8 mmol/day) or nitrate-depleted (ND-BEETx) beetroot extract. Carotid stiffness parameters-pulse wave velocity (PWVβ), β stiffness, pressure-strain elastic modulus, augmentation index (AIx), and arterial compliance-were measured at baseline and <i>weeks 4</i>, <i>8</i>, and <i>12</i>. Serum nitrate and nitrite concentrations and blood pressure were also assessed. Compared with ND-BEETx, NR-BEETx supplementation significantly reduced PWVβ, β stiffness, elastic modulus, and AIx at <i>weeks 4</i>, <i>8</i>, and <i>12</i>, whereas arterial compliance increased by <i>week 12</i>. Serum nitrate and nitrite concentrations were elevated five- to sixfold and 1.5- to 2-fold, respectively, in the NR-BEETx group, with peak concentrations occurring at <i>week 8</i> and showing a plateau or slight decrease at <i>week 12</i>. Blood pressure remained unchanged in both groups. Twelve weeks of nitrate-rich beetroot extract supplementation improved carotid artery stiffness and increased NO bioavailability without altering blood pressure. These findings suggest that beetroot extract supplementation can be recommended as an alternative nutritional strategy to mitigate carotid artery stiffening in postmenopausal females.<b>NEW & NOTEWORTHY</b> Postmenopausal females experience reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and elevated carotid artery stiffness, a well-established independent risk factor for end-organ damage and all-cause mortality. In this study, we demonstrate that 12 wk of dietary nitrate supplementation through beetroot extract significantly increased NO bioavailability and improved carotid artery stiffness in postmenopausal females.</p>","PeriodicalId":7692,"journal":{"name":"American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology","volume":" ","pages":"H937-H944"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"American journal of physiology. Heart and circulatory physiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00065.2025","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2025/3/11 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Menopause is associated with reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, a key contributor to increased arterial stiffness and, consequently, greater risk of cardiovascular disease-related mortality in postmenopausal females. Even though dietary nitrate has been shown to increase NO bioavailability in postmenopausal females acutely, previous studies showed no impact of dietary nitrate supplementation on arterial stiffness in postmenopausal females. Their findings were likely limited by the acute and/or short-term design. Thus, this study aimed to determine whether 12 wk of dietary nitrate supplementation via beetroot extract improves carotid artery stiffness in postmenopausal females. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and parallel-design trial was conducted with 20 postmenopausal females (60-85 yr). Participants received nitrate-rich (NR-BEETx, 8.8 mmol/day) or nitrate-depleted (ND-BEETx) beetroot extract. Carotid stiffness parameters-pulse wave velocity (PWVβ), β stiffness, pressure-strain elastic modulus, augmentation index (AIx), and arterial compliance-were measured at baseline and weeks 4, 8, and 12. Serum nitrate and nitrite concentrations and blood pressure were also assessed. Compared with ND-BEETx, NR-BEETx supplementation significantly reduced PWVβ, β stiffness, elastic modulus, and AIx at weeks 4, 8, and 12, whereas arterial compliance increased by week 12. Serum nitrate and nitrite concentrations were elevated five- to sixfold and 1.5- to 2-fold, respectively, in the NR-BEETx group, with peak concentrations occurring at week 8 and showing a plateau or slight decrease at week 12. Blood pressure remained unchanged in both groups. Twelve weeks of nitrate-rich beetroot extract supplementation improved carotid artery stiffness and increased NO bioavailability without altering blood pressure. These findings suggest that beetroot extract supplementation can be recommended as an alternative nutritional strategy to mitigate carotid artery stiffening in postmenopausal females.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Postmenopausal females experience reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and elevated carotid artery stiffness, a well-established independent risk factor for end-organ damage and all-cause mortality. In this study, we demonstrate that 12 wk of dietary nitrate supplementation through beetroot extract significantly increased NO bioavailability and improved carotid artery stiffness in postmenopausal females.
期刊介绍:
The American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology publishes original investigations, reviews and perspectives on the physiology of the heart, vasculature, and lymphatics. These articles include experimental and theoretical studies of cardiovascular function at all levels of organization ranging from the intact and integrative animal and organ function to the cellular, subcellular, and molecular levels. The journal embraces new descriptions of these functions and their control systems, as well as their basis in biochemistry, biophysics, genetics, and cell biology. Preference is given to research that provides significant new mechanistic physiological insights that determine the performance of the normal and abnormal heart and circulation.