Fig. 1.

Plasma nitrate (NO₃⁻; A) and nitrite (NO₂⁻; B) concentrations prior to (baseline) and following consumption of a high NO₃⁻ beetroot (BR; ●) or placebo (PL; ○) beverage. Three hours/cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) base indicates the time point 3 h following beverage consumption, which was also just prior to commencement of the CPX test. Peak, immediately at time to exhaustion; rec, 10 min after time to exhaustion. Values are group mean ± SE. *significantly different from PL group, P ≤ 0.05; **significantly different from PL group, P ≤ 0.01; #significantly different from baseline, P ≤ 0.05.