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Acute dietary nitrate supplementation enhances compensatory vasodilation during hypoxic exercise in older adults
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Acute dietary nitrate supplementation enhances compensatory vasodilation during hypoxic exercise in older adults

Darren P Casey, David P Treichler, Charles T Ganger IV, Aaron C Schneider and Kenichi Ueda
Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.118(2), pp.178-186
01/15/2015
DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00662.2014
PMCID: PMC4297773
PMID: 25414241
url
https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00662.2014View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

We have previously demonstrated that aging reduces the compensatory vasodilator response during hypoxic exercise due to blunted nitric oxide (NO) signaling. Recent evidence suggests that NO bioavailability can be augmented by dietary nitrate through the nitrate-nitrite pathway. Thus we tested the hypothesis that acute dietary nitrate supplementation increases the compensatory vasodilator response to hypoxic exercise, particularly in older adults. Thirteen young (25 ± 1 yr) and 12 older (64 ± 2 yr) adults performed rhythmic forearm exercise at 20% of maximum voluntary contraction during normoxia and hypoxia (∼80% O2 saturation); both before (control) and 3 h after beetroot juice (BR) consumption. Forearm vascular conductance (FVC; ml·min(-1)·100 mmHg(-1)) was calculated from forearm blood flow (ml/min) and blood pressure (mmHg). Compensatory vasodilation was defined as the relative increase in FVC due to hypoxic exercise (i.e., % increase compared with respective normoxic exercise trial). Plasma nitrite was determined from venous blood samples obtained before the control trials and each of the exercise trials (normoxia and hypoxia) after BR. Consumption of BR increased plasma nitrite in both young and older adults (P < 0.001). During the control condition, the compensatory vasodilator response to hypoxic exercise was attenuated in older compared with young adults (3.8 ± 1.7% vs. 14.2 ± 1.2%, P < 0.001). Following BR consumption, compensatory vasodilation did not change in young (13.7 ± 3.3%, P = 0.81) adults but was substantially augmented in older adults (11.4 ± 2.1%, P < 0.01). Our data suggest that acute dietary nitrate supplementation increases the compensatory vasodilator response to hypoxic exercise in older but not young adults.
Exercise Nitrates - blood Hypoxia - drug therapy Age Factors Plant Extracts Humans Middle Aged Aging - drug effects Nitrates - pharmacology Male Beta vulgaris Young Adult Nitrates - therapeutic use Adult Female Aged Phytotherapy Vasodilation - drug effects Dietary Supplements Muscle, Skeletal - blood supply

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