The effect of nitrate on brown fat
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The effect of inorganic nitrate supplementation on brown fat activation and quantity in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
IRAS ID
306840
Contact name
Rebecca Neal
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bournemouth University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Diets rich in fruits and vegetables are high in nitrate and improve blood vessel and heart health and reduce type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) morbidity. Nitrate supplementation (i.e. beetroot juice) has the potential to convert white adipose tissue (WAT), which is primarily an energy store, to beige adipose tissue (BAT), which is an active tissue that is responsible for significant amounts of energy expenditure. BAT produces heat during cold exposure by upregulated uncoupling protein (UCP)-1, an inner mitochondrial protein.
Nitrate supplementation has been shown to increase UCP-1 expression in BAT and cyclic guanosine monophosphate [(cGMP)]. Importantly, cGMP has been shown to increase brown fat expression by ‘beiging’ WAT in mice. However, the efficacy of nitrate supplementation to convert WAT towards a BAT phenotype in humans is unexplored. The ability to shift the phenotype from WAT to beige fat could improve someone's diabetes.
Recent developments in the non-invasive measurement of BAT using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and infrared thermography (IRT) (Costello et al., 2021 unpublished data) has opened the possibility to study the effects of nitrate on BAT quantity and activation in humans. BAT depots in humans with T2DM have been identified using MRI but not yet with the more easily accessible technique of IRT.
We therefore propose to undertake a randomised crossover (i.e. all people do both conditions) study, in 15 individuals with T2DM to investigate the effect of nitrate supplementation on [cGMP] and BAT activation and quantity.
REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0378
Date of REC Opinion
5 Jan 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion