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Nitrate (thin arrows) intake from the diet is swallowed and completely absorbed in the upper gastrointestinal tract. About 25% of this amount is concentrated in the salivary glands and still inside the mouth is reduced to nitrite by anaerobic bacteria present on the tongue and is swallowed again. In the stomach, nitrite acid undergoes reduction and is converted to NO (thick arrows) that has vasodilatory action on blood vessels.
