Effects of Dietary Nitrate Supplementation on High-Intensity Cycling Sprint Performance in Recreationally Active Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Rachel Tan, Jordan K. Cass, Isabella G. Lincoln, Lauren E. Wideen, Madelyn Nicholl J., Trevor Molnar J., Lewis A. Gough, Stephen J. Bailey, Pennell Adam

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the influence of dietary nitrate supplementation on performance metrics during cycling sprint exercise according to the PRISMA guidelines. Searches were conducted on MEDLINE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and SPORTDiscus databases up to September 2023. Inclusion criteria were healthy recreationally active men and women who consumed nitrate-rich and nitrate-deficient beetroot juice to assess performance outcomes of mean power, peak power, time-to-peak power, and minimum power during 30-s cycling sprints. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 and TESTEX tools and funnel plots. A random effects model was performed on six studies and showed that dietary nitrate had significant effects on time-to-peak power (SMD: ?0.66, 95% CI: ?1.127 to ?0.192, p = 0.006) but not on mean power, peak power, or minimum power. Subgroup analysis revealed that an acute low nitrate dose improved time-to-peak power (SMD: ?0.977, 95% CI: ?1.524 to ?0.430, p < 0.001) but not after a multiday moderate nitrate dose (SMD: ?0.177, 95% CI: ?0.619 to ?0.264, p = 0.431). These data suggest that acute nitrate supplementation can benefit time-to-peak power during 30-s cycling sprints, but due to the limited availability of data and heterogeneity in methodology, these results should be interpreted with caution. There was insufficient data on women to analyze sex-based differences. Future studies are required to provide insight on how supplementation regimen and population impact the effects of dietary nitrate for enhancing cycling sprint performance.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalNutrients
    Volume16
    Issue number16
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished (VoR) - 19 Aug 2024

    Keywords

    • nitric oxide
    • beetroot
    • ergogenic aid
    • power

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