Beetroot juice to boost airway defense during stress
Official title: Beetroot Juice Supplement for Boosting Mucosal Immunity – The NO Cold Study
Funded at Southern Methodist University · NIH-11124749 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Daily beetroot juice for students during exam stress to raise airway nitric oxide and help prevent colds and respiratory infections.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Southern Methodist University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | August 23, 2023 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $449,189 |
| NIH project number | 5R33AT012022-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11124749 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are otherwise-healthy college students facing exam-related stress who can drink beetroot juice or placebo and provide breath and nasal samples.
✕Less likely to help
People not under acute stress, those with chronic respiratory disease, individuals unwilling to consume beetroot juice, or those with contraindications to dietary nitrate may not benefit or be eligible.
What this research studies
Students experiencing final-exam stress will be randomly assigned in a double-blind trial to receive either beetroot juice at one of two dosing schedules or a matching placebo for about seven days, with 150 participants total (50 per arm). The study will measure fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) to track airway NO levels, record cold symptoms, and test nasal samples for respiratory viruses using PCR. The team is testing whether increasing airway NO via dietary nitrate from beetroot can lower the chance or severity of respiratory infections during stressful periods. Neither participants nor study staff will know who receives active juice versus placebo until the trial is complete.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, beetroot juice could offer a low-cost, easy-to-take way to raise airway NO and reduce colds during high-stress periods.
How similar studies have gone: Pilot data from this team suggest beetroot juice can raise exhaled NO and lessen cold symptoms in students during finals, but larger controlled trials are limited and the approach remains emerging.
Where this research is happening
-
Southern Methodist University
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ritz, Thomas Ekkehard — Southern Methodist University
- Study coordinator: Ritz, Thomas Ekkehard
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.