Dietary Nitrate Reduces Blood Pressure in Rats With Angiotensin II–Induced Hypertension via Mechanisms That Involve Reduction of Sympathetic Hyperactivity

Several experimental and clinical studies have shown that dietary nitrate supplementation can increase nitric oxide bioavailability. In the oral cavity, commensal bacteria reduce nitrate to nitrite, which is subsequently absorbed into the circulation where reduction to nitric oxide by enzymatic systems occur. Although it is well-known that boosting the nitrate-nitrite-nitric oxide pathway can improve cardiovascular, renal, and metabolic functions and that sympathoexcitation contributes to the development of the same disorders, the potential effects of dietary nitrate on sympathetic activity remain to be elucidated. In this study, we hypothesized that treatment with inorganic nitrate could prevent the increase in sympathetic nerve activity in an experimental model of Ang II (angiotensin II)–induced hypertension. Multiple in vivo approaches were combined, that is, Wistar rats orally treated with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME (N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, 0.5 g/L) and implanted with subcu...