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 ( 0.05); 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). 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.
Eroğlu et al. (Sat,) studied this question.