Although inorganic nitrate and beetroot juice supplementation are associated with decreased systolic blood pressure (BP), these results have primarily been obtained from short-term trials that focused on healthy young adults. Therefore, we hypothesized that oral supplementation of beetroot juice concentrate would decrease systolic BP in overweight older participants but that the decline in BP would not be sustained after a 1-week interruption of the beetroot juice supplementation. For 3 weeks, 24 participants were randomized to either the beetroot juice concentrate or blackcurrant juice group, with a 1-week postsupplementation phase (week 4). Changes in systolic and diastolic BP were assessed during the supplementation and postsupplementation phases. Blood pressure was measured using 3 different methods: (1) resting clinic BP, (2) 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring, and (3) home monitoring of daily resting BP. The first 2 methods were applied at baseline and after weeks 3 and 4. Daily measurements were conducted throughout the study, with 21 subjects completing the study (beetroot/blackcurrant = 10/11; male/female = 12/9; age = 62.0 ± 1.4 years; body mass index = 30.1 ± 1.2 kg/m(2)). After 3 weeks, beetroot juice supplementation was not associated with significant changes in resting clinic BP or 24-hour ABPM. Conversely, beetroot juice concentrate reduced daily systolic BP after 3 weeks (-7.3 ± 5.9 mm Hg, P = .02); however, the effect was not maintained after the interruption of the supplementation (week 4, 2.8 ± 6.1 mm Hg, P = .09). In overweight older subjects, beetroot juice concentrate supplementation was associated with beneficial effects on daily systolic BP, although the effects were not significant when measured by 24-hour ABPM or resting clinic BP.

Ageing modifies the effects of beetroot juice supplementation on 24-hour blood pressure variability: an individual participant meta-analysis, Nitric Oxide (2015), http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.niox.2015.04.007. This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Results The pooled effect of beetroot juice on all BP outcomes was not significant. Beetroot 54 juice ingestion determined a significant decrease in nocturnal systolic BP variability in

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Background: Inorganic nitrate supplementation has been associated with decreased systolic blood pressure (BP). However, these findings come from short-term studies on mostly healthy young subjects (1). We studied the effects of beetroot juice supplementation on BP in overweight and obese older participants and we evaluated whether changes in BP were sustained after the interruption of the supplementation.Methods and Results: Twenty-four participants were randomised to either beetroot or blackcurrant juice supplementation for 3 weeks. After the third week, supplementation was stopped in both groups and participants returned for their final visit after 7 days (week 4, carry-over phase). Changes in systolic and diastolic BP were measured during the supplementation and carry-over phases. BP was measured using three different methods: 1) resting clinic BP; 2) 24-hr ambulatory BP monitoring (ABMP) and 3) home monitoring of daily resting BP. The first two methods were applied at baseline, week 3 and week 4 whereas daily measurements were performed in duplicate throughout the study by each participant in the morning and at night (method 3). A linear mixed model adjusted for baseline values was used to assess differences in BP responses between the two interventions.Twenty-one subjects completed the study (Beetroot/Blackcurrant = 10/11; Male/Female = 12/9; Age = 62·0 SD 1·4years; BMI = 30·1 SD 1·2 kg/m 2 ). The two groups were matched for baseline anthropometric and BP measurements. Beetroot juice supplementation was not associated with significant changes in resting clinic BP and 24-hr ABPM (Figure 1, left panel) in both phases (supplementation, recovery). A significant effect of beetroot juice on daily systolic BP was observed after 3 weeks (−7·3 ± 5·9 mmHg, p = 0·02) but the effect was not maintained after the interruption of the supplementation (week 4, −2·8 ± 6·1 mmHg, p = 0·09) (Figure 1, right panel). Conclusions:The effect of beetroot juice supplementation in older overweight subjects appeared to be influenced by the method used to measure BP. The daily monitoring of BP could represent a sensitive method to evaluate the efficacy of nutritional interventions on BP.