Beets (Beta vulgaris) are large edible tap roots vegetables belonging to the chenopod family. In addition to being a good source of essential micronutrients and minerals, beets also contain high levels of nitrates. Diets high in beet and nitrates have been demonstrated to improve exercise capacity, muscle contractility, and blood pressure. While these results have been replicated several times little is known about the mechanism of action. In this study we investigated grip strength and metabolomic changes in response to diets containing sodium nitrate, and beets providing nitrates at 5.5, 2.75, 1.37 mmol/g BW/day. Grip strength studies demonstrated a dose response improvement in the mice eating the beet diet, with a statistically significant peak grip strength improvement of 25%. These results are consistent with previous reports that beet juice improves muscle contractility. Untargeted metabolomic analysis in two separate studies indicated an upward trend (p=0.06) of plasma sphingosine 1‐phospate (S1P) concentrations in mice fed a beet diet (5.5mmol/gBW/day) compared with mice fed a control diet. Increased S1P has been previously correlated with exercise performance, muscle repair and activation of muscle stem cells. Overall these results suggest that high‐nitrate foods such as beets may improve muscle contractility through a mechanism of action which may include S1P and targets under its influence.
Introduction McCann et al (2009) reported that glycerol inclusion lowered the growth rate of pigs and that there was a tendency for feed conversion to become less efficient as glycerol inclusion increased. These findings suggested that the digestible energy (DE) content of glycerol is lower than that from a starch source such as wheat. There has been very little work conducted on the nutritive value of glycerol for pigs and the aim of this trial was therefore to investigate the effect of increasing glycerol inclusion on nutrient utilisation in finishing pigs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.