Testing for the presence of nitrate in biological fluids such as serum has attracted increasing interest in recent years for clinical and sports science applications [4].
Nitrate levels produced endogenously represent the final product of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrite oxidation pathways, therefore providing an indication of NO levels and activity [4].
In clinical studies, nitrate levels have been used as a biomarker for potential diagnosis and monitoring of human health conditions such as infective and inflammatory diseases [5], cardiovascular [6] and neurological conditions [7].
Dietary or environmental exposure to nitrate has long been considered to be harmful due to risks associated with gastric cancer [8] and methemoglobinemia [9].
More recently, dietary nitrate supplementation has been shown to reduce blood pressure and lower the oxygen cost of sub-maximal exercise through enhancement of NO bioavailability [10], [11] and [12].