The Effect of Acute Beetroot Juice Supplementation on Anaerobic Performance in Football Players

Melike Nur Eroğlu

Status: Completed

Conditions: Supplementation; Exercise Performance

Treatments: Dietary Supplement: Blackcurrant Juice (Placebo); Dietary Supplement: Beetroot Juice (BJ)

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07048912

SUBU-EROGLU-2025-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The aim of this clinical trial is to examine the effects of two different natural fruit-vegetable blend beverages on short-duration, high-intensity exercise performance and muscle oxygenation in young male football players. The study also investigates how these beverages influence certain metabolic responses. The main questions it seeks to answer are:

• Does one of the beverages improve peak and mean power output during the Wingate test?
• How do these beverages affect muscle oxygenation and post-exercise recovery?
• Researchers will compare the effects of the two beverages on performance and metabolic markers.

Participants:

• Consume one of the two natural beverages 2.5 hours before testing (assigned at random)
• Perform a 30-second high-intensity Wingate cycling test
• Undergo measurements of muscle oxygenation, heart rate, blood pressure, blood lactate, and blood glucose during and after exercise
• Maintain consistent dietary and physical activity routines and avoid certain foods prior to testing

Enrollment: 16 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 18 to 19 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Healthy males over 18 years old
• Performing resistance exercise at least three times per week
• At least 5 years of football training experience

Exclusion criteria

• Contraindications to Wingate exercise
• Presence of cardiometabolic disease
• Current use of ergogenic supplementation
• Smokers

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Triple Blind

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16 participants in 2 patient groups

Beetroot Juice (BJ)

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm consumed 140 mL of nitrate-rich beetroot juice (\~12.8 mmol nitrate) as a single acute dose, approximately 2.5 hours before the performance assessments. The supplementation was administered in the morning under supervision, and participants were instructed to maintain their usual diet but avoid additional nitrate-rich foods 24 hours prior to testing.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Blackcurrant Juice (Placebo)

Dietary Supplement: Beetroot Juice (BJ)

Placebo

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in this arm consumed 140 mL of blackcurrant juice containing negligible nitrate (\<0.1 mmol) as a single acute dose, approximately 2.5 hours before the performance assessments. The supplementation was administered in the morning under supervision, and participants followed the same dietary instructions as the experimental group, avoiding nitrate-rich foods 24 hours prior to testing.

Treatment:

Dietary Supplement: Blackcurrant Juice (Placebo)

Dietary Supplement: Beetroot Juice (BJ)