Exercise can induce a pro-inflammatory response in aged subjects with metabolic disorders and
nitrate supplementation has shown anti-inflammatory effects. We evaluated the influence of dietary
nitrate on the response of the
antioxidant and mitochondrial dynamics genes to acute exercise in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), as well as the
antioxidant and the inflammatory response of PBMCs against immune stimulation.
Metabolic syndrome patients participated in a crossover study in which they consumed a beverage containing 16 mM
sodium nitrate or a placebo with the same composition without
nitrate before performing a submaximal test at 60%-70% of their maximal heart rate for 30 min. The intake of
nitrate increased the
nitrate plus
nitrite plasma levels about 8-fold and induced the upregulation of
catalase,
superoxide dismutase,
glutathione peroxidase, mitofusin 2 and PGC1α in PBMCs after exercise. The gene expression of
catalase and TNFα was enhanced by
phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) only in the placebo group, while the
glutathione peroxidase expression was enhanced by PMA only after
nitrate intake. The intake of
nitrate by
metabolic syndrome patients induces an
antioxidant and mitochondrial response to exercise at the same time that it attenuates the pro-inflammatory response to immune stimulation.