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Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite as Biological Indicators of Health and Disease in Nutritional Studies

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Biomarkers in Nutrition

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Abstract

Dietary vegetables represent a nitrate-rich source for humans, and consumption increases plasma levels of nitrate two- to threefold. Both dietary nitrates and nitrites can also be bioactivated endogenously to form NO and other nitrated bioactive molecules. The relative critical importance of NO and its vasodilatory function, among many others, have garnered considerable research interest. Research efforts to monitor NO formation and correlate with potential beneficial health outcomes are hindered by the extremely fast half-life of NO. However, the immediate metabolic byproducts of NO formation are nitrate and nitrite. Given the considerable stability of the former, it has been used routinely and effectively in nutritional studies as a surrogate biomarker, although indirect, for NO production. From these studies, dietary nitrates and purportedly NO have been correlated with myriad beneficial health outcomes in nutritional studies. Further investigation is needed regarding physiological functions and therapeutic applications of dietary nitrates with a focus on large epidemiological studies.

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Abbreviations

ADI:

Acceptable daily intake

ATP:

Adenosine triphosphate

CHF:

Congestive heart failure

DBP:

Diastolic blood pressure

eNOS:

Endothelial NOS

EPR:

Electron paramagnetic resonance

FDA:

Food and Drug Administration

FMD:

Flow-mediated dilation

GC-MS:

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

ICAM-1:

Intercellular adhesion molecule, isoform 1

iNOS:

Inducible NOS

LC:

Liquid chromatography

NADPH:

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide

nNOS:

Neuronal NOS

NO:

Nitric oxide

NOCs:

N-nitroso compounds

NOS:

Nitric oxide synthase

NOx:

Nitrate and nitrite

RSE:

Red spinach extract

SBP:

Systolic blood pressure

USDA:

United States Department of Agriculture

VCAM-1:

Vascular cell adhesion molecule, isoform 1

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  1. Center for Nutraceutical and Dietary Supplement Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Keith R. Martin

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    Victor R. Preedy

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Martin, K.R., Bloomer, R.J. (2022). Plasma Nitrate and Nitrite as Biological Indicators of Health and Disease in Nutritional Studies. In: Patel, V.B., Preedy, V.R. (eds) Biomarkers in Nutrition . Biomarkers in Disease: Methods, Discoveries and Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-81304-8_5-1

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