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Beetroot juice ingestion does not improve neuromuscular performance and match-play demands in elite female hockey players: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

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Abstract

Purpose

Beetroot juice is a dietary supplement that contains high levels of inorganic nitrate (NO3-) and that its intake has proven effective at increasing blood nitric oxide (NO) concentrations improving endurance performance. However, the effect of this supplement in team sport performance, especially in female athletes, has been barely studied. This study aimed to compare the acute effects of beetroot juice supplementation on neuromuscular performance and match-play demands in elite female field hockey players.

Methods

Eleven elite female hockey players (22.8 ± 5.1 years) belonging to a bronze team medal in Eurohockey Club Champions Cup participated in this study. Participants were randomly divided into two groups undergoing a test battery with beetroot juice (70 mL, 6.4 mmol NO3−) or placebo (70 mL, 0.04 mmol NO3−) in two different days with one week between protocols. The neuromuscular test battery consisted of a countermovement jump, isometric handgrip strength (i.e., dominant hand), 20 m-sprint and repeated sprint ability test (RSA). Afterward, a simulated hockey match play (2 × 12.5 min) was performed and recorded by Global Positioning System (GPS).

Results

No statistically significant improvements were observed in any physical parameters analysed comparing beetroot juice compared to placebo ingestion, countermovement jump (p = 0.776, ES = 0.16), isometric handgrip strength (p = 0.829; ES = – 0.08), 20 m sprint test (p = 0.227; ES = – 0.23), mean repeated sprint ability (p = 0.955, ES = 0.03) and in any physical match demands measured by GPS (p = 0.243–1.000; ES = 0.02–0.47).

Conclusion

Acute beetroot juice supplementation did not produce any statistically significant improvement in neuromuscular performance or match-play demands in elite female field hockey players.

Trial registration

The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov with the following ID: NCT05209139. The study was retrospectively registered by 26 January 2022.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the field hockey players participated in this study for their invaluable contribution to the study.

Funding

This study was funded by Universidad Francisco de Vitoria and Banco Santander via grants (UFV-2020/44).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exercise Physiology Group, School of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria Carretera Pozuelo a Majadahonda, Km 1.800, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, Spain

    Álvaro López-Samanes, Alejandro Muñoz & Violeta Sánchez-Migallón

  2. Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Departamento de Ciencias Biomédicas, Área de Educación Física y Deportiva, Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain

    Alberto Pérez-Lopez

  3. Exercise and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain

    Esther Morencos & Pablo González-Frutos

  4. Institute of International Politics, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid, Spain

    Adriaan Kühn

  5. Center for Translational Research in Physiotherapy, Department of Pathology and Surgery, Universidad Miguel Hernández, San Juan, Spain

    Víctor Moreno-Pérez

  6. FoodLab Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain

    Anna Bach-Faig

  7. Cambridge Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences, School of Psychology and Sport Science, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK

    Justin Roberts

  8. Departamento de Motricidad Humana y Rendimiento Deportivo, Universidad de Sevilla, Seville, Spain

    Raúl Domínguez

Authors
  1. Álvaro López-Samanes
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  2. Alberto Pérez-Lopez
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  3. Esther Morencos
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  4. Alejandro Muñoz
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  6. Violeta Sánchez-Migallón
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  7. Víctor Moreno-Pérez
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  8. Pablo González-Frutos
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  9. Anna Bach-Faig
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  10. Justin Roberts
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  11. Raúl Domínguez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Álvaro López-Samanes.

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López-Samanes, Á., Pérez-Lopez, A., Morencos, E. et al. Beetroot juice ingestion does not improve neuromuscular performance and match-play demands in elite female hockey players: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Eur J Nutr 62, 1123–1130 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-03052-1

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