Dietary nitrate supplementation improves team sport-specific intense intermittent exercise performance

Recent studies have suggested that dietary inorganic nitrate (NO 3 − ) supplementation may improve muscle efficiency and endurance exercise tolerance but possible effects during team sport-specific intense intermittent exercise have not been examined. We hypothesized that NO 3 − supplementation would enhance high-intensity intermittent exercise performance. Fourteen male recreational team-sport players were assigned in a double-blind, randomized, crossover design to consume 490 mL of concentrated, nitrate-rich beetroot juice (BR) and nitrate-depleted placebo juice (PL) over ~30 h preceding the completion of a Yo–Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test (Yo–Yo IR1). Resting plasma nitrite concentration ([NO 2 − ]) was ~400 % greater in BR compared to PL. Plasma [NO 2 − ] declined by 20 % in PL ( P