Plasma nitrate and nitrite are increased by a high-nitrate supplement but not by high-nitrate foods in older adults.

Little is known about the effect of dietary nitrate on the nitrate/nitrite/nitric oxide cycle in older adults. We examined the effect of a 3-day control diet vs high-nitrate diet, with and without a high-nitrate supplement (beetroot juice), on plasma nitrate and nitrite kinetics and blood pressure using a randomized 4-period crossover controlled design. We hypothesized that the high-nitrate diet would show higher levels of plasma nitrate/nitrite and lower blood pressure compared with the control diet, which would be potentiated by the supplement. Participants were 8 normotensive older men and women (5 female, 3 male, 72.5 ± 4.7 years old) with no overt disease or medications that affect nitric oxide metabolism. Plasma nitrate and nitrite levels and blood pressure were measured before and hourly for 3 hours after each meal. The mean daily changes in plasma nitrate and nitrite were significantly different from baseline for both control diet + supplement (P < .001 and P = .017 for nitrate and nitrite, respectively) and high-nitrate diet + supplement (P = .001 and P = .002), but not for control diet (P = .713 and P = .741) or high-nitrate diet (P = .852 and P = .500). Blood pressure decreased from the morning baseline measure to the three 2-hour postmeal follow-up time points for all treatments, but there was no main effect for treatment. In healthy older adults, a high-nitrate supplement consumed at breakfast elevated plasma nitrate and nitrite levels throughout the day. This observation may have practical utility for the timing of intake of a nitrate supplement with physical activity for older adults with vascular dysfunction.

Acute effect of a high nitrate diet on brain perfusion in older adults.

AIMS: Poor blood flow and hypoxia/ischemia contribute to many disease states and may also be a factor in the decline of physical and cognitive function in aging. Nitrite has been discovered to be a vasodilator that is preferentially harnessed in hypoxia. Thus, both infused and inhaled nitrite are being studied as therapeutic agents for a variety of diseases. In addition, nitrite derived from nitrate in the diet has been shown to decrease blood pressure and improve exercise performance. Thus, dietary nitrate may also be important when increased blood flow in hypoxic or ischemic areas is indicated. These conditions could include age-associated dementia and cognitive decline. The goal of this study was to determine if dietary nitrate would increase cerebral blood flow in older adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this investigation we administered a high vs. low nitrate diet to older adults (74.7±6.9 years) and measured cerebral perfusion using arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging. We found that the high nitrate diet did not alter global cerebral perfusion, but did lead to increased regional cerebral perfusion in frontal lobe white matter, especially between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that dietary nitrate may be useful in improving regional brain perfusion in older adults in critical brain areas known to be involved in executive functioning.