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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2019 May 29;11(10):3315-3332.
doi: 10.18632/aging.101984.

Effect of chronic nitrate and citrulline supplementation on vascular function and exercise performance in older individuals

Thibault Le Roux-Mallouf  1 , Felix Pelen  1 , Angela Vallejo  1 , Idir Halimaoui  1 , Stéphane Doutreleau  1   2 , Samuel Verges  1   2
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Effect of chronic nitrate and citrulline supplementation on vascular function and exercise performance in older individuals

Thibault Le Roux-Mallouf et al. Aging (Albany NY). .

Abstract

Increased nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability may improve exercise performance and vascular function. It remains unclear whether older adults who experience a decreased NO bioavailability may benefit from chronic NO precursor supplementation. This randomised, double-blind, trial aims to assess the effect of chronic NO precursor intake on vascular function and exercise performance in older adults (60-70 years old). Twenty-four healthy older adults (12 females) performed vascular function assessment and both local (knee extensions) and whole-body (incremental cycling) exercise tests to exhaustion before and after one month of daily intake of a placebo (PLA) or a nitrate-rich salad and citrulline (N+C, 520mg nitrate and 6g citrulline) drink. Arterial blood pressure (BP) and stiffness, post-ischemic, hypercapnic and hypoxic vascular responses were evaluated. Prefrontal cortex and quadriceps oxygenation was monitored by near-infrared spectroscopy. N+C supplementation reduced mean BP (-3.3mmHg; p=0.047) without altering other parameters of vascular function and oxygenation kinetics. N+C supplementation reduced heart rate and oxygen consumption during submaximal cycling and increased maximal power output by 5.2% (p<0.05), but had no effect on knee extension exercise performance. These results suggest that chronic NO precursor supplementation in healthy older individuals can reduce resting BP and increase cycling performance by improving cardiorespiratory responses.

Keywords: ageing; citrulline; exercise; nitrate; nitric oxide.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: The authors report no of interest associated with this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Individual and group mean changes in mean arterial blood pressure before and after one month of placebo or nitrate and citrulline intake in older adults. N+C, nitrate + citrulline; PLA, placebo; PRE, measure before the supplementation period; POST, measure after the supplementation period; * significant difference between PRE and POST; n=24.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heart rate and oxygen consumption during the cycling incremental test before and after one month of placebo or nitrate and citrulline intake in older adults. HR, heart rate; VO2, oxygen consumption; N+C, nitrate + citrulline; PLA, placebo; PRE, measure before the supplementation period; POST, measure after the supplementation period; 25%; 50%; 75%; 100%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100%, of the duration of the PRE test (i.e. isowatt).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Individual and group mean changes in maximal cycling power output before and after one month of placebo or nitrate and citrulline intake in older adults. N+C, nitrate + citrulline; PLA, placebo; PRE, measure before the supplementation period; POST, measure after the supplementation period; * significant difference between PRE and POST; n=24.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Overview of the study design.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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