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Inorganic nitrate supplementation lowers blood pressure in humans: role for nitrite-derived NO
Randomised crossover study in healthy volunteers: potassium nitrate (4, 12, or 24 mmol) versus matched chloride and beetroot juice (5.5 mmol nitrate) versus water increased plasma nitrite and cGMP with dose-dependent blood pressure lowering; post hoc analyses suggested stronger responses in men with higher baseline BP and lower baseline nitrite than in women.
Design
- Randomised crossover in healthy volunteers
- Arms: KNO₃ (4 vs 12 mmol, n = 6; 24 mmol KNO₃ vs 24 mmol KCl, n = 20) and 250 mL beetroot juice (~5.5 mmol nitrate) vs 250 mL water (n = 9)
Headline physiology / BP narrative (abstract)
- Plasma nitrite and cGMP rose with nitrate and beetroot juice versus chloride or water controls
- Blood pressure fell in a dose-dependent pattern with nitrate and with beetroot juice
- Post hoc sex analysis: BP fell preferentially in male participants with higher baseline BP and lower baseline nitrite, with no parallel signal in female volunteers in the same exploratory framing
Evidence hygiene
- Healthy-volunteer crossovers—translate cautiously to hypertensive long-term care; pair with Siervo / Benjamim / Grönroos meta-analyses already linked on
dietary-nitrate-supplementation. - Errata exist on PubMed for this record—read linked corrections before citing exact mmHg tables from figures.
Publication
Kapil V, Milsom AB, Okorie M, et al. Hypertension. 2010 Aug;56(2):274-81. PMID 20585108.
Outcomes
- Systolic Blood PressureCrossover nitrate and beetroot-juice arms: dose-dependent decreases in blood pressure versus chloride or water controls in healthy volunteers (Kapil et al. 2010 abstract; read full text for arm-specific mmHg tables).