Nitrate-rich food increases nitric oxide (NO) production and may have beneficial effects on vascular, metabolic, and brain function. This pilot study tested the effects of prolonged consumption of a range of doses of dietary nitrate (NO3-), provided as beetroot juice, on cognitive function and cerebral blood flow (CBF) in overweight and obese older participants. The study had a 13-week single-blind, randomised, parallel design, and 62 overweight and obese older participants (aged 60 to 75 years) received the following interventions: (1) high NO3- (2 × 70 mL beetroot juice/day) (2) medium NO3- (70 mL beetroot juice/day), (3) low NO3- (70 mL beetroot juice on alternate days), or (4) placebo (70 mL of NO3--depleted beetroot juice on alternate days). Cognitive functions were assessed using the Computerised Mental Performance Assessment System (COMPASS) assessment battery. CBF, monitored by concentration changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin, was assessed in the frontal cortex using near-infrared spectroscopy. The findings of this pilot study showed that cognitive function and CBF were not affected by supplementation with NO3--rich beetroot juice for 13 weeks, irrespective of the NO3- dose administered. These findings require confirmation in larger studies using more sophisticated imaging methods (i.e., MRI) to determine whether prolonged dietary NO3- supplementation influences brain function in older overweight people.
Keywords: beetroot juice; cerebral blood flow; cognition; inorganic nitrate; older adults.