Effects of nitrate supplementation via beetroot juice on contracting rat skeletal muscle microvascular oxygen pressure dynamics

• Dietary NO3− (via beetroot juice, BR) augments exercising muscle blood flow.
• We examined the effects of BR on contracting rat muscle microvascular O2 pressure (PmvO2) dynamics.
• BR slowed the PmvO2 fall across the crucial rest-contractions transition.
• There was no effect of BR on contracting steady-state PmvO2.
• This elevated O2 driving pressure may improve metabolic control during exercise.

NO3− supplementation via beetroot juice (BR) augments exercising skeletal muscle blood flow subsequent to its reduction to NO2− then NO. We tested the hypothesis that enhanced vascular control following BR would elevate the skeletal muscle O2 delivery/O2 utilization ratio (microvascular PO2, PmvO2) and raise the PmvO2 during the rest-contractions transition. Rats were administered BR (~0.8 mmol/kg/day, n = 10) or water (control, n = 10) for 5 days. PmvO2 was measured during 180 s of electrically induced (1 Hz) twitch spinotrapezius muscle contractions. There were no changes in resting or contracting steady-state PmvO2. However, BR slowed the PmvO2 fall following contractions onset such that time to reach 63% of the initial PmvO2 fall increased (MRT1; control: 16.8 ± 1.9, BR: 24.4 ± 2.7 s, p < 0.05) and there was a slower relative rate of PmvO2 fall (Δ1PmvO2/τ1; control: 1.9 ± 0.3, BR: 1.2 ± 0.2 mmHg/s, p < 0.05). Despite no significant changes in contracting steady state PmvO2, BR supplementation elevated the O2 driving pressure during the crucial rest-contractions transients thereby providing a potential mechanism by which BR supplementation may improve metabolic control.