Beetroot juice showed a brief jump-performance advantage in elite basketball players
A crossover trial tested juice before a specialized warm-up, finding an early advantage that did not persist throughout the short observation period.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Beetroot juice improved early jump and power measures compared with placebo after a specialized warm-up. That advantage did not persist: placebo produced greater velocity-derived jump height at a later assessment, and neither condition showed a benefit at the final assessment. The findings concern brief performance tests in elite male players.
The trial involved a small, specialized group using a specific exercise protocol. The abstract gives no numerical between-condition differences, and these short-lived test results do not establish benefits during basketball games.
What researchers found
Velocity-derived jump height, peak power, and peak rate of force development
Beetroot juice versus placebo after the blood flow restriction exercise protocol; the reported early differences were statistically significant, but effect magnitudes were not given.
What was tested
Each player received juice and placebo in a crossover design. Both conditions included a standardized warm-up and jumping exercises with blood flow restriction, so the comparison concerns juice within that combined setting.
Later results changed direction
At 12 minutes, velocity-derived jump height favored placebo. By 16 minutes, neither condition showed a performance benefit. Some other measures had moderate effect sizes without statistical significance, leaving uncertainty about those effects rather than demonstrating equivalence.
The original publication
Acute beetroot juice supplementation augments early neuromuscular performance after blood flow restriction: a crossover study in elite basketball players.
Nie R, Zhang G, Kong J et al.
Front Nutr · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41659797
- Record checked
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