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A food composition database for assessing nitrate intake from plant-based foods
Liezhou Zhong1, Lauren C Blekkenhorst2, Nicola P Bondonno3
1Nutrition & Health Innovation Research Institute, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.
Food Chemistry
|June 26, 2022
Summary
A new plant-based food nitrate database is available, crucial for assessing dietary nitrate intake and health effects. Leafy greens are highest in nitrate, with updated values for fruits like bananas and strawberries.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Food Composition Analysis
- Dietary Assessment
Background:
- Accurate dietary nitrate intake assessment requires comprehensive food composition data.
- Existing databases for plant-based food nitrate content are outdated and incomplete.
- Nitrate intake is linked to various health outcomes, necessitating reliable data.
Purpose of the Study:
- To update and expand the existing vegetable nitrate database with recent data.
- To incorporate nitrate content data for a wider range of plant-based foods, including fruits, cereals, herbs, spices, pulses, and nuts.
- To create a comprehensive resource for evaluating dietary nitrate intake from plant-based sources.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review of published data from 1980 to 2021.
- Inclusion of data from 2016-2021 for vegetables and 1980-2021 for other plant-based food groups.
- Collating nitrate content data for 264 plant-based foods from 64 countries, with 120 foods having data from three or more references.
Main Results:
- The updated database includes nitrate content for 264 plant-based foods.
- Leaf vegetables were identified as the primary source of dietary nitrate, followed by stem/shoot vegetables, herbs, and spices.
- Significantly higher nitrate levels were found in bananas and strawberries than previously reported.
Conclusions:
- The newly compiled database provides an up-to-date and expanded resource for plant-based food nitrate content.
- This database, combined with animal-based food data, enables robust assessment of total dietary nitrate and nitrite intake.
- Facilitates improved clinical and epidemiological studies on the health implications of dietary nitrate.
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