Inorganic Nitrate Supplementation for Cardiovascular Health

Nitric oxide (NO) is continually produced by the enzyme nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and is essential to the control and effectiveness of the cardiovascular system. However, there is a substantial reduction in NOS activity with aging that can lead to the development of hypertension and other cardiovascular complications. Fortunately, NO can also be produced by the sequential reduction of inorganic nitrate to nitrite and then to NO. Nitric oxide from inorganic nitrate supplementation has been found to have the same cardioprotective benefits of NO produced by NOS. Moreover, it can effectively compensate for declining NOS activity due to aging or NOS inhibition by oxidative stress, hypoxia, or other factors. This review covers some of the major cardiovascular regulatory actions of NO and presents evidence that NO from inorganic nitrate supplementation can provide (1) compensation when NOS activity is inadequate, and (2) cardioprotective benefits beyond that provided by a healthy NOS system. In addition, it discusses how to obtain a safe and efficacious range of inorganic nitrate.