Acute beetroot juice supplementation enhances short duration high-intensity exercise performance and influences muscle oxygenation in football players

Abstract

Abstract Beetroot juice (BJ), a nitrate-rich supplement, may enhance exercise performance, but its acute effects on anaerobic power and muscle oxygenation in football players are unclear. This study investigated these effects during a Wingate test in trained male footballers. In a randomized, crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled design, 16 male football players (age: 18.2 ± 0.4 years, weight: 69.6 ± 6.5 kg, height: 177.5 ± 5.5 cm) consumed 140 mL of BJ (12.8 mmol nitrate) or a placebo (blackcurrant juice (< 0.1 mmol nitrate)). After 2.5 h, a 30-s Wingate test was performed. Muscle oxygenation, heart rate, blood pressure, and blood lactate were assessed. BJ supplementation increased peak power (placebo: 720.33 ± 107.78 W; BJ: 803.50 ± 127.23 W, p  = 0.002) and mean power (placebo: 541.23 ± 62.05 W; BJ: 581.42 ± 80.09 W, p  = 0.001), and reduced the time to peak power (placebo: 7.32 ± 0.84 s; BJ: 8.10 ± 0.94 s, p  = 0.032) compared to placebo. Muscle oxygenation did not differ during exercise ( p  > 0.05); however, post-exercise muscle oxygen saturation was higher (∼10%, p  = 0.017) and deoxygenated haemoglobin was lower (∼13%, p  = 0.019) with BJ. Post-exercise blood lactate levels were higher in BJ compared to placebo ( p  < 0.05). Blood pressure at all time points and heart rate during exercise did not differ between conditions ( p  > 0.05). Acute BJ supplementation increases anaerobic power output and post-exercise muscle oxygenation in football players, without affecting heart rate or blood pressure. Trial registration The randomized controlled trial was registered on 03/07/2025 at ClinicalTrials.gov, under the registration number NCT07048912.