Effect of Red Beetroot Juice Intake in Adults With Long COVID-19

Catholic University of the Sacred Heart

Status: Completed

Conditions: Long COVID

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Red Beetroot Juice; Other: Placebo

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06535165

5110

Details and patient eligibility

About

Red beetroot juice may have positive effects on multiple pathways involved in long COVID. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the impact of beetroot juice supplementation on physical function, gut microbiota, and systemic inflammation in adults with long-COVID

Full description

A single-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial to test the effects of 14 days of beetroot juice supplementation on functional and biological outcomes in adults with long-COVID.

Participants were randomized 1:1 to receive either daily oral supplementation with 200 mL beetroot juice or placebo for 14 days. The primary endpoint was the change from baseline to day 14 in the fatigue resistance test. Secondary outcomes included the distance walked on the 6-min walk test, handgrip strength, and flow-mediated dilation. Secondary endpoints also included changes from baseline in circulating inflammatory mediators, metagenomic and fecal water metabolomic profiles. Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) models were built to evaluate the differences in biological variables associated with the interventions.

Enrollment: 31 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 20 to 60 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• a certification of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection
• a negative COVID-19 swab test at least four weeks prior to the screening visit
• meet the criteria for long-COVID diagnosis according to the World Health Organization criteria
• report persistent fatigue

Exclusion criteria

• intolerance to beetroot juice or its derivatives
• clinical conditions and/or use of medications that may interfere with trial outcomes (e.g., pregnancy or breastfeeding, diabetes, use of steroids or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, nitrates)
• participation in other intervention trials for long-COVID

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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31 participants in 2 patient groups, including a placebo group

Red Beetroot Juice

Experimental group

Description:

daily oral supplementation with 200 mL beetroot juice for 14 days

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Red Beetroot Juice

Control

Placebo Comparator group

Description:

Placebo (a solution containing 7 g of sugar, 180 mL of water, and 20 mL of beetroot juice, to show the same color as the active treatment) for 14 days

Treatment:

Other: Placebo