Acute Effects of Beetroot Juice Ingestion on Cognitive Function and Neuromuscular Performance in Elite Female Taekwondo Athletes (BEET_TAEKWONDO)

Universidad Pontificia Comillas

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dietary Supplements: Beetroot Juice Acute Supplementation; Dietary Supplement: Placebo Acute Supplementation

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Placebo acute supplementation (James White, UK); Dietary Supplement: Beetroot juice (James White, UK)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06675305

Ethics Committee: 22/172-E_TFM

Details and patient eligibility

About

Beetroot juice is a good source of nitrate (NO3-), which is a precursor of nitric oxide (NO) through the NO3- to nitrite (NO2-) to NO pathway (Lundberg et al., 2008). Consequently, it is thought that a minimum threshold may exist for dietary NO3- consumption of at least 5 mmol to enhance athletic performance (Senefeld et al., 2020). In turn, systematic reviews have documented that the use of beetroot juice supplementation enhances muscle strength and power-related attributes (Gonzalez et al., 2023), as well as performance in repeated high-intensity activity bouts (Alsharif et al., 2023; Dominguez et al., 2018). However, beetroot juice supplementation has been shown to have equivocal effects on neuromuscular performance specifically among individual sport athletes (e.g. taekwondo). Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of acute beetroot juice ingestion (140 mL, 12.8 mmol NO3-) on neuromuscular performance in elite female taekwondo athletes.

Full description

Beetroot juice is a good source of nitrate (NO3-), which is a precursor of nitric oxide (NO) through the NO3- to nitrite (NO2-) to NO pathway (Lundberg et al., 2008). This pathway is thought to promote increased sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release and re-uptake with ensuing enhancements in force output within type II muscle fibers (Hernandez et al., 2012), as well as increased neurotransmitter release (Esen et al., 2022) and attenuated muscle potassium efflux (Wylie et al., 2013) that could benefit neuromuscular performance. Consequently, it is thought that a minimum threshold may exist for dietary NO3- consumption of at least 5 mmol to enhance athletic performance (Senefeld et al., 2020). In turn, systematic reviews have documented that the use of beetroot juice supplementation enhances muscle strength and power-related attributes (Gonzalez et al., 2023), as well as performance in repeated high-intensity activity bouts (Alsharif et al., 2023; Dominguez et al., 2018). However, beetroot juice supplementation has been shown to have equivocal effects on neuromuscular performance specifically among individual sport athletes (e.g. taekwondo). Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effects of acute beetroot juice ingestion (140 mL, 12.8 mmol NO3-) on neuromuscular performance in elite female taekwondo athletes.

Enrollment: 7 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 16 to 40 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age between 16 to 40 years
• Competed in international taekwondo competitions representing her national teams.
• More than6 years of training experience (at least 3 sessions per week).
• Female taekwondo athletes.

Exclusion criteria

• Male taekwondo athletes.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Quadruple Blind

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7 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Beetroot juice supplementation

Experimental group

Description:

140 mL of beetroot juice (12.8 mmol of NO3-, Beet-It-Pro Elite Shot, James White Drinks Ltd., Ipswich, UK) made from concentrates of beetroot juice (98%) and lemon juice (2%) (nutritional information (per 100 mL), energy: 373 kJ; fat: 0 g; carbohydrates: 18 g \[sugars: 17 g\]; protein: 3.7 g; salt: 0.48 g)

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Beetroot juice (James White, UK)

Placebo supplementation

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

140 mL of beetroot juice placebo without nitrates (0.08 mmol of NO3-, Beet-It-Pro Elite Shot, James White Drinks Ltd., Ipswich, UK) made from concentrates of beetroot juice (98%) and lemon juice (2%) (nutritional information (per 100 mL), energy: 373 kJ; fat: 0 g; carbohydrates: 18 g \[sugars: 17 g\]; protein: 3.7 g; salt: 0.48 g)

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Placebo acute supplementation (James White, UK)