The DOI matches its Crossref record; 9 of the 9 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
What Is in Your Beet Juice? Nitrate and Nitrite Content of Beet Juice Products Marketed to Athletes
Abstract
Consumption of beetroot juice (BRJ) supplements has become popular among athletes because beets tend to be rich in nitrate (NO 3−), which can enhance exercise performance by increasing nitric oxide production. The NO 3− content of beets can vary significantly, however, making it difficult to know how much NO 3− any product actually contains. Samples from 45 different lots of 24 different BRJ products from 21 different companies were therefore analyzed for NO 3− (and nitrite [NO 2−]) concentration using high-performance liquid chromatography. The NO 3− and NO 2− content (i.e., amount per serving) was then calculated based on either (a) the manufacturer’s recommended serving size (for prepackaged/single dose products) or (b) as used in previous studies, a volume of 500 ml (for BRJ sold in bulk containers). There was moderate-to-large variability in NO 3− content between samples of the same product, with a mean coefficient of variation of 30% ± 26% (range 2–83%). There was even greater variability between products, with a ∼50-fold range in NO 3− content between the lowest and highest. Only five products consistently provided ≥5 mmol of NO 3−/serving, which seems to be the minimal dose required to enhance exercise performance in most individuals. NO 2− contents were generally low (i.e., ≤0.5% compared with NO 3−), although two products contained 10% and 14%. The results of this study may be useful to athletes and their support staff contemplating which (if any) BRJ product to utilize. These data may also offer insight into variability in the literature with respect to the effects of BRJ on exercise performance.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“Gallardo and Coggan (2018) suggested that the minimal effective NO3-dose to impact exercise efficiency is at least 5.0 mmol”
From Acute beetroot supplementation may improve blood pressure but not exercise economy in female masters swimmers (2023) · cites this paper as Gallardo and Coggan (2018)
In the citing paper
“they also analyzed the nitrate content of several commercially available BRS, and determined that the BRS used in the present study (BeetElite, Human N Co., Austin, TX, USA) contained only 2.16 ± 0.28 mmol NO3-.”
From Acute beetroot supplementation may improve blood pressure but not exercise economy in female masters swimmers (2023) · cites this paper as Gallardo and Coggan (2018)
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Nitrate in vegetables: toxicity, content, intake and EC regulation
Santamaria, P. (2006) · Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture · doi:10.1002/jsfa.2351 · Cited by 1,064
Bailey, S. J., Fulford, J., Vanhatalo, A., Winyard, P. G., Blackwell, J. R., DiMenna, F. J., Wilkerson, D. P., Benjamin, N., & Jones, A. M. (2010) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00046.2010 · Cited by 607
Georgiev, V. G., Weber, J., Kneschke, E.-M., Denev, P. N., Bley, T., & Pavlov, A. I. (2010) · Plant Foods for Human Nutrition · doi:10.1007/s11130-010-0156-6 · Cited by 410 · cited 1×
“In fact, beets and therefore BRJ-based products contain numerous other potentially biologically active compounds, including carotenoids, betalains, bioflavonoids, and ascorbic acid (Georgiev et al., 2010; Wruss et al., 2015).”
BackgroundLansley, K. E., Winyard, P. G., Fulford, J., Vanhatalo, A., Bailey, S. J., Blackwell, J. R., DiMenna, F. J., Gilchrist, M., Benjamin, N., & Jones, A. M. (2011) · Journal of Applied Physiology · doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.01070.2010 · Cited by 404
Acute Dietary Nitrate Supplementation Improves Cycling Time Trial Performance
LANSLEY, K. E., WINYARD, P. G., BAILEY, S. J., VANHATALO, A., WILKERSON, D. P., BLACKWELL, J. R., GILCHRIST, M., BENJAMIN, N., & JONES, A. M. (2011) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e31821597b4 · Cited by 388
Dietary Nitrate and Physical Performance
Jones, A. M., Thompson, C., Wylie, L. J., & Vanhatalo, A. (2018) · Annual Review of Nutrition · doi:10.1146/annurev-nutr-082117-051622 · Cited by 206 · cited 4×
“Based on studies demonstrating that BRJ ingestion can enhance exercise performance (Jones et al., 2018), a large number of BRJbased supplements are now marketed to athletes.”
BackgroundInfluentialSodium Nitrate Supplementation Does Not Enhance Performance of Endurance Athletes
BESCÓS, R., FERRER-ROCA, V., GALILEA, P. A., ROIG, A., DROBNIC, F., SUREDA, A., MARTORELL, M., CORDOVA, A., TUR, J. A., & PONS, A. (2012) · Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise · doi:10.1249/mss.0b013e3182687e5c · Cited by 107
Increase in Maximal Cycling Power With Acute Dietary Nitrate Supplementation
Rimer, E. G., Peterson, L. R., Coggan, A. R., & Martin, J. C. (2016) · International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance · doi:10.1123/ijspp.2015-0533 · Cited by 81
Self-citationDietary nitrate-induced increases in human muscle power: High versus low responders
Coggan, A. R., Broadstreet, S. R., Mikhalkova, D., Bole, I., Leibowitz, J. L., Kadkhodayan, A., Park, S., Thomas, D. P., Thies, D., & Peterson, L. R. (2018) · Physiological Reports · doi:10.14814/phy2.13575 · Cited by 66
Self-citation
Research works printed but not linked: 14
- Clifford, T., Howatson, G., West, D.J., & Stevenson, E.J. (2017). Beetroot juice is more beneficial than sodium nitrate for attenuating muscle pain after strenuous eccentric-bias exercise. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 42, 1185–1191. PubMed ID: 28719765 doi:10.1139/apnm-2017-0238 · DOI
- Coggan, A.R., Broadstreet, S.R., Mahmood, K., Mikhalkova, D., Madigan, M., Bole, I., … Peterson, L.R. (2018a). Dietary nitrate increases VO2peak and performance but does not alter ventilation or efficiency in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 24, 65–73. PubMed ID: 28916479 doi:10.1016/j.cardfail.2017.09.004 · DOI
- Coggan, A.R., Leibowitz, J.L., Anderson Spearie, C., Kadkhodayan, A., Thomas, D.P., Ramamurthy, S., … Peterson, L.R. (2015a). Acute dietary nitrate intake improves muscle contractile function in patients with heart failure: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Circulation: Heart Failure, 8, 914–920. PubMed ID: 26179185 doi:10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.115.002141 · DOI · Paper page
- Coggan, A.R., Leibowitz, J.L., Kadkhodayan, A., Thomas, D.T., Ramamurthy, S., Spearie, C.A., … Peterson, L.R. (2015b). Effect of acute dietary nitrate intake on knee extensor speed and power in healthy men and women. Nitric Oxide, 48, 16–21. PubMed ID: 25199856 doi:10.1016/j.niox.2014.08.014 · DOI · Paper page
- Corleto, K.A., Singh, J., Jayaprakasha, G.K., & Patil, B.S. (2018). Storage stability of dietary nitrate and phenolic compounds in beetroot (Beta vulgaris) and arugula (Eruca sativa) juices. Journal of Food Science, 83, 1237–1248. PubMed ID: 29660828 doi:10.1111/1750-3841.14129 · DOI
- Hoon, M.W., Fornusek, C., Chapman, P.G., & Johnson, N.A. (2015). The effect of nitrate supplementation on muscle contraction in healthy adults. European Journal of Sport Science, 8, 712–719. PubMed ID: 26681629 doi:10.1080/17461391.2015.1053418 · DOI
- Justice, J.N., Johnson, L.C., DeVan, A.E., Cruickshank-Quinn, C., Reisdorph, N., Bassett, C.J., … Seals, D.R. (2015). Improved motor and cognitive performance with sodium nitrite supplementation is related to small metabolite signatures: A pilot trial in middle-aged and older adults. Aging, 7, 1004–1021. PubMed ID: 26626856 doi:10.18632/aging.100842 · DOI
- Kharti, J., Mills, C.E., Maskell, P., Odongerel, C., & Webb, A.J. (2017). It is rocket science—Why dietary nitrate is hard to ‘beet’! Part I: Twists and turns in the realization of the nitrate–nitrite–NO pathway. British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, 83, 129–139. PubMed ID: 26896747 doi:10.1111/bcp.12913 · DOI
- McDonagh, S.T.J., Wylie, L.J., Webster, J.M.A., Vanhatalo, A., & Jones, A.M. (2018). Influence of dietary nitrate food forms on nitrate metabolism and blood pressure in healthy normotensive adults. Nitric Oxide, 72, 66–74. PubMed ID: 29223585 doi:10.1016/j.niox.2017.12.001 · DOI
- Oskarsson, J., & McGawley, K. (2018). No individual or combined effects of caffeine and beetroot-juice supplementation during submaximal or maximal running. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 43, 697–703. PubMed ID: 29444414 doi:10.1139/apnm-2017-0547 · DOI · Paper page
- Thompson, C., Vanhatalo, A., Kadach, S, Wylie, L.J., Fulford, J., Ferguson, S.K., … Jones, A.M. (2018). Discrete physiological effects of beetroot juice and potassium nitrate supplementation following 4-wk sprint interval training. Journal of Applied Physiology, 124, 1519–1528. PubMed ID: 29494294 doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00047.2018 · DOI · Paper page
- Troutman, A.D., Gallardo, E.J., Brown, M.B., & Coggan, A.R. (2018). Measurement of nitrate and nitrite in biopsy-sized muscle samples using HPLC. Journal of Applied Physiology. Advance online publication. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00625.2018 · DOI
- Van De Walle, G.P., & Vukovich, M.D. (2018). The effect of nitrate supplementation on exercise tolerance and performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 32, 1796–1808. PubMed ID: 29786633 doi:10.1519/JSC0000000000002046 · DOI
- Wruss, J., Waldenburger, G., Huemer, S., Uygun, P., Lanzerstorfer, P., Müller, U., … Weghuber, J. (2015). Composition characteristics of commercial beetroot products and beetroot juice prepared from seven beetroot varieties grown in Upper Austria. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 42, 46–55.
Cited by
Ranchal-Sanchez, A., Diaz-Bernier, V. M., De La Florida-Villagran, C. A., Llorente-Cantarero, F. J., Campos-Perez, J., & Jurado-Castro, J. M. (2020) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu12071912 · Cited by 63
Poon, E. T.-C., Iu, J. C.-K., Sum, W. M.-K., Wong, P.-S., Lo, K. K.-H., Ali, A., Burns, S. F., & Trexler, E. T. (2025) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-025-02194-6 · Cited by 28
Macuh, M., Kojić, N., & Knap, B. (2023) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu15173721 · Cited by 9
Nowak, A., Szymańska, A., Kwaśniewska, M., Kochan, E., & Lipert, A. (2025) · Nutrients · doi:10.3390/nu17243954 · Cited by 5
Eastman, A. Q., Sloop, O., Gokhale, R. A., & Ferguson-Stegall, L. M. (2023) · Journal of Kinesiology & Wellness · doi:10.56980/jkw.v12i1.116 · Cited by 1
Metadata
- Authors
- Gallardo, E. J., & Coggan, A. R.
- Affiliations
- Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
- Venue
- International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism
- Publisher
- Human Kinetics
- Published
- 2019-07-01
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 345-349
- ISSN
- 1526-484X
- 1543-2742
- Cited by
- 56
- References
- 9
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
