In February 2025, SPINS and Nutritional Outlook jointly identified beetroot as one of the "Ingredients to Watch" for 2025 following an in-depth analysis of trending nutraceutical ingredients and categories. Sales data demonstrate exceptional market growth, particularly within cardiovascular health products, highlighting strong consumer demand for beetroot-based formulations. This article reviews the nutritional composition of beetroot, including its abundant essential amino acids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and bioactive compounds such as nitrates, betalains, betaine, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and ascorbic acid. It further summarizes current research regarding beetroot's biological activities, including blood pressure reduction, enhancement of exercise performance, improvement of cognitive function, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, the article discusses the increasing popularity of beetroot in combination formulations with caffeine, citrulline, and probiotics, highlighting scientific findings that support these synergistic approaches. The content presented below is based on published literature and market reports and is intended to summarize current scientific evidence without modifying the original research conclusions.
As consumer demand for evidence-based functional ingredients continues to grow, beetroot has emerged as one of the most promising botanical ingredients in the nutraceutical industry. Rich in naturally occurring nitrates, betalains, betaine, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, beetroot has attracted increasing scientific interest for its potential role in supporting cardiovascular health, exercise performance, cognitive function, and overall wellness. Recent market data further reflects this growing momentum, with beetroot experiencing remarkable sales growth across cardiovascular health products and becoming an increasingly popular ingredient for innovative supplement formulations.
In February 2025, SPINS collaborated with Nutritional Outlook to conduct an in-depth discussion of the most influential nutraceutical ingredients and categories for 2025. Beetroot was recognized as one of the "Ingredients to Watch" for 2025.
According to market data, during the 52-week period ending October 6, 2024, beetroot ranked third in the mainstream multi-outlet cardiovascular health category, generating sales of US$46.78 million, representing a 161.3% increase compared with the previous 52-week period. Within the natural retail channel, beetroot sales in the cardiovascular health category increased by 293.7%, reaching US$2.1 million.
Beetroot: A Nutrient-Dense Root Vegetable
Beetroot originated along the Mediterranean coast of Europe and is cultivated on a limited scale in northern China. Both the peel and flesh exhibit a characteristic deep purplish-red color, while the cross-section displays several distinctive concentric purple rings.
Beetroot is rich in nutrients, including essential amino acids, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber. It also contains a variety of bioactive compounds, including nitrates, betalains, betaine, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and ascorbic acid, earning it the reputation of being a highly nutritious vegetable.
Bioactive Components in Beetroot
Health Benefits of Beetroot
Beetroot and its extracts exhibit multiple biological activities, including blood pressure reduction, enhancement of exercise performance, improvement of cognitive function, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory effects. These properties suggest important roles in the management of cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, liver injury, and other health conditions.
1. Blood Pressure Reduction
Hypertension is a multifactorial disease, and one contributing factor is the reduction of nitric oxide (NO) levels in the human body. Numerous epidemiological studies have confirmed that beetroot represents a potential dietary strategy for hypertension prevention.
One study demonstrated that three hours after consuming 140 mL of beetroot juice, healthy older adults experienced significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and mean arterial pressure. These values returned to baseline approximately six hours after consumption, suggesting that beetroot provides an acute blood pressure-lowering effect.
2. Enhanced Exercise Performance
A substantial body of research has confirmed that dietary nitrate supplementation in the form of beetroot juice can improve endurance performance, muscle strength, and sprint capacity. Proposed mechanisms include reduced oxygen cost during exercise, improved muscle efficiency, and enhanced skeletal muscle contractile function.
3. Improved Cognitive Function
Reduced cerebral perfusion resulting from impaired nitric oxide activity is considered one of the mechanisms contributing to cognitive impairment. Research has shown that healthy adults demonstrated improved cognitive performance 90 minutes after consuming 450 mL of beetroot juice. In addition, patients with type 2 diabetes exhibited improved simple reaction time after consuming 250 mL of beetroot juice daily for two weeks.
4. Antioxidant Activity
Betalains and betaine are natural antioxidants capable of scavenging reactive oxygen species. Consumption of either betalains or betaine has been shown to reduce malondialdehyde (MDA) levels while increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). Furthermore, simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion studies indicate that betalains retain relatively high antioxidant activity even after simulated digestion in the small intestine.
5. Anti-inflammatory Activity
Betalains have been shown to inhibit the production of inflammatory mediators, including TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β, induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Betaine has also been reported to reduce IL-6 expression in visceral adipose tissue in mice fed a high-fat diet, thereby alleviating obesity-associated inflammation.
Beetroot as an Ideal Ingredient for Combination Formulations
Beyond its established benefits for cardiovascular health and exercise performance, beetroot's compatibility with multiple functional ingredients has become another important driver behind its rapid market growth.
1. Caffeine + Beetroot
The combination of caffeine and beetroot appears to provide greater improvements in exercise performance than either ingredient alone. In addition to its well-known stimulating effects, appropriate caffeine intake before exercise significantly enhances aerobic endurance, improves athletic performance, and reduces exercise-induced muscle discomfort.
One study reported that athletes consuming both beetroot and caffeine achieved significantly better 1,000-meter running performance than the control group, as well as better performance than participants receiving beetroot alone or caffeine alone.
2. Citrulline + Beetroot
Combining citrulline with beetroot appears to further enhance exercise intensity and endurance. Citrulline helps alleviate acidosis, hyperammonemia, and blood lactate accumulation, thereby supporting aerobic performance.
Research demonstrated that participants who consumed 3 g of citrulline together with 2.1 g of beetroot extract daily for nine consecutive weeks achieved significantly better standing long jump performance and one-minute abdominal endurance test results than those receiving citrulline or beetroot extract alone.
3. Probiotics + Beetroot
Probiotics contribute to improved digestion and nutrient absorption, suppression of harmful bacteria, and enhanced immune function. However, because most probiotics are anaerobic microorganisms, they are susceptible to oxidative damage.
Due to beetroot's strong antioxidant capacity, probiotics incorporated into beetroot-based fruit and vegetable juices can maintain favorable viability. Beetroot-probiotic blended juices also contain high levels of dietary fiber while being virtually fat-free, making them suitable for individuals pursuing weight management.
References
[1] Nutrition Outlook. 2025 Ingredients to Watch: The Top 5 Nutrients, Botanicals, and Categories Driving Nutraceutical Product Development.
[2] GODERSKA K, DOMBHARE K, RADZIEJEWSKA-KUBZDELA E. Evaluation of probiotics in vegetable juices: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), carrot (Daucus carota subsp. sativus) and beetroot juice (Beta vulgaris). Archives of Microbiology. 2022;204(6).
[3] LIU X, HUO L, WANG F, et al. Caffeine and Beetroot Juice Optimize 1,000-m Performance: Shapley Additive Explanations Analysis. American Journal of Men's Health. 2025;19(2).
[4] Li M, Wang Z, Tong T. Research Progress on the Key Bioactive Components and Biological Functions of Beetroot. Journal of Food Safety & Quality. 2022;13(2):343–350.