PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - V Kapil
AU  - A J Webb
AU  - A Ahluwalia
TI  - Inorganic nitrate and the cardiovascular system
AID  - 10.1136/hrt.2009.180372
DP  - 2010 Nov 01
TA  - Heart
PG  - 1703--1709
VI  - 96
IP  - 21
4099  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/96/21/1703.short
4100  - http://heart.bmj.com/content/96/21/1703.full
SO  - Heart2010 Nov 01; 96
AB  - Fruit and vegetable-rich diets reduce blood pressure and risk of ischaemic stroke and ischaemic heart disease. While the cardioprotective effects of a fruit and vegetable-rich diet are unequivocal, the exact mechanisms of this effect remain uncertain. Recent evidence has highlighted the possibility that dietary nitrate, an inorganic anion found in large quantities in vegetables (particularly green leafy vegetables), may have a part to play. This beneficial activity lies in the processing in vivo of nitrate to nitrite and thence to the pleiotropic molecule nitric oxide. In this review, recent preclinical and clinical evidence identifying the mechanisms involved in nitrate bioactivity, and the evidence supporting the potential utility of exploitation of this pathway for the prevention and/or treatment of cardiovascular diseases are discussed.