Acute Beetroot Juice Supplementation in Pre-eclampsia Pregnancies

Summary

Pre-eclampsia is a serious condition that typically affects pregnant women after the 20th week of pregnancy, characterized by high blood pressure and damage to organs such as the kidneys and liver. Currently, treatment options are limited, which has prompted researchers to explore alternative approaches. One such promising alternative is dietary nitrate found in vegetables like beetroot, as nitrate can be converted into nitric oxide in the body, which helps lower blood pressure. This study aims to determine the acute effects of nitrate-rich beetroot juice on blood pressure, several blood and salivary markers in pregnant women with pre-eclampsia and healthy pregnant. Furthermore, the study will assess fetal blood flow using Doppler ultrasound. We want to understand the kinetics of nitrate and nitric oxide metabolites and assess the temporal dependency of the hypotensive response. Through this investigation, we seek evidence of nitrate-enriched beetroot juice as an adjunct therapy in managing pre-eclampsia.

Conditions

• Pre-Eclampsia
• Pregnacy

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Beetroot juice

In the morning, pregnant women with pre-eclampsia will consume a single dose of 70 ml of nitrate-rich beetroot juice containing 400 mg of nitrate. Participants will be monitored to assess the acute effects of nitrate intake for 6 hours.

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Placebo juice

In the morning, pregnant women with pre-eclampsia will consume 70 ml of a placebo juice. The placebo juice will be similar in appearance and taste to the nitrate-rich beetroot juice. Participants will be monitored to compare the acute effects of beetroot juice with the placebo intake for 6 hours.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Hospital das Clínicas de Ribeirão Preto

  collaborator OTHER

• Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Sao Paulo

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Ricardo C Cavalli, Dr · Medical School of Ribeirao Preto, USP

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

40 Years

Sex

FEMALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-05-18

Primary Completion

2027-05-31

Completion

2028-07-31

Countries

• Brazil

Study Locations