Beetroot and L-citrulline both aim at nitric oxide, but they get there by different routes, and the research favors them for different jobs. Beetroot has the more consistent evidence for endurance and exercise economy, especially in recreationally active people. Citrulline has a smaller, mixed performance record, with signals for lower perceived exertion and less early soreness. Below you will find how each works, what trials show, doses, whether to stack them, and who should talk to a clinician first.
Key Takeaways
- Beetroot supplies inorganic nitrate. L-citrulline is a precursor to arginine. Both can support vasodilation, but neither guarantees more blood flow during exercise.
- For endurance, beetroot has the stronger track record. Benefits show up more often in recreational athletes than in elite ones.
- For post-workout feel, citrulline has meta-analytic signals for lower perceived exertion and less soreness at 24 hours. Beetroot has signals for some recovery measures at 48 to 72 hours.
- Dose matters more than the ingredient name. Beetroot products vary widely in nitrate, so look for a standardized nitrate figure. Citrulline studies commonly use 6 to 9 g.
- If you take blood pressure medication, prescription nitrates or PDE5 inhibitors, or have a heart or kidney condition, ask your clinician before using either.
Table of Contents
- How beetroot and citrulline work
- Beetroot vs citrulline at a glance
- What the research says about performance
- Blood pressure and weight management
- Doses, timing and reading the label
- Can you take them together?
- Which one should you choose?
- Safety: who should check first
- Our perspective
- Shop supplements for your goal
- FAQ
- Sources
How beetroot and citrulline work
The two ingredients feed nitric oxide, a signaling molecule that relaxes blood vessels, from opposite ends.
Beetroot is rich in inorganic nitrate. According to the NIH Office of Dietary Supplements, oral bacteria and then the body convert nitrate to nitrite and then to nitric oxide, particularly when oxygen is low. That pathway may dilate vessels, improve oxygen delivery and reduce the oxygen cost of submaximal exercise.
L-citrulline takes a longer route. The ODS consumer fact sheet explains that the kidneys convert most citrulline to arginine, which the body then turns into nitric oxide. Citrulline works through the nitric oxide synthase pathway, while beetroot works around it.
Because the routes differ, many people assume the two should be additive. That is a reasonable hypothesis. It is not the same as proof, and the head-to-head data below show why.
If you like comparing compounds by the role each one plays rather than by marketing claims, MOTS-c and NAD+ research roles are laid out in that same mechanism-first spirit.
Beetroot vs citrulline at a glance
| Factor | Beetroot (nitrate) | L-citrulline |
|---|---|---|
| Main route | Nitrate, then nitrite, then nitric oxide | Citrulline, then arginine, then nitric oxide |
| Best-supported use | Endurance and exercise economy | Perceived exertion and early soreness |
| Typical studied dose | 70 to 250 mL juice or 70 to 280 mL concentrate daily; 300 to 500 mg nitrate/day in combination studies | 6 to 9 g, often 8 g citrulline malate, about 1 hour before exercise; 3 g/day in longer trials |
| Evidence for blood pressure | About 5 mmHg systolic reduction in hypertensive adults | About 4 to 7.5 mmHg systolic reduction in pooled analyses |
| Common side effects | Red or pink urine, occasional stomach upset | Stomach discomfort |
| Label issue | Nitrate content varies by product | Free-form vs malate changes how much citrulline you get |
What the research says about performance
Endurance
The ODS reports that beetroot trials have improved endurance or time-trial performance in some runners, swimmers, rowers and cyclists, but not in every study. Benefits look more likely in recreationally active people than in elite athletes, so a weekend 10K runner has a better case than an Olympic-level rower.
Citrulline evidence for performance is smaller and conflicting. If your main goal is endurance, beetroot is the better-supported starting point. Our own guide to the best supplements for endurance puts it in context with other options.
Strength training and blood flow
One of the cleanest head-to-head tests is a 2019 randomized crossover study of 27 recreationally active men doing leg extensions. They received 8 g citrulline malate, beetroot providing 400 mg nitrate, or placebo 2 hours before exercise. Beetroot raised plasma nitrate and nitrite substantially, yet neither supplement improved measured blood flow, performance, metabolic efficiency or hormonal response.
The lesson is useful: a biochemical marker going up does not automatically mean more blood flow or better lifts. Single doses before a resistance session are not where either ingredient has shown its strongest results.
Perceived exertion and soreness
A 2020 meta-analysis of 13 citrulline studies with 206 participants found lower perceived exertion after exercise and less soreness at 24 hours. It found no significant reduction in soreness at 72 hours or in blood lactate. The most common dose was 8 g citrulline malate.
Beetroot has its own recovery signals. A 2021 meta-analysis found beetroot juice improved isometric strength recovery at 72 hours, countermovement jump performance at 24 to 72 hours and pressure-pain threshold at 48 and 72 hours. It did not change creatine kinase or oxidative stress markers, and the authors noted the evidence was limited and potentially biased.
A 2026 network meta-analysis of 19 trials and 356 participants found beetroot-derived nitrate reduced delayed-onset muscle soreness versus placebo at 24 and 48 hours. Watermelon with added citrulline reduced soreness at 24 hours. At 72 hours no active option differed significantly from placebo, and the authors flagged heterogeneity and sparse comparisons.
Put simply, effects on recovery are modest and time-specific. Treat them as a small edge on top of sleep, protein and sensible training load. Our overview of muscle recovery supplement benefits for athletes covers the wider picture.
Blood pressure and weight management
Both ingredients have been studied for blood pressure, which is a different question from sports performance.
- Citrulline: a meta-analysis of eight trials using 3 to 9 g/day for 1 to 17 weeks found a pooled systolic reduction of 4.10 mmHg. Diastolic change was significant only in studies using at least 6 g/day. A separate meta-analysis of 15 trials with 424 participants reported 7.54 mmHg systolic and 3.77 mmHg diastolic reductions after L-citrulline or watermelon extract, especially with higher baseline pressure and studies of at least 6 weeks.
- Beetroot: a 2022 meta-analysis of seven trials in 218 hypertensive participants found a 4.95 mmHg systolic reduction and no significant diastolic change. A 2024 review of 11 trials and 349 hypertensive patients found 200 to 800 mg nitrate daily lowered clinical systolic pressure by 5.31 mmHg, with low certainty.
None of this is a treatment plan. If you have high blood pressure, the decision about supplements belongs with your physician. For weight management, the research we reviewed does not establish either ingredient as a weight-loss aid, so choose them for training and circulation goals instead.
Doses, timing and reading the label
Dose is where most people go wrong, especially with beetroot.
Beetroot
Studies have used roughly 70 to 250 mL of juice or 70 to 280 mL of concentrate daily. The ODS stresses that beetroot products vary considerably in nitrate content, so the label should state nitrate, not just “beet root” in milligrams of powder. One resistance study used 400 mg nitrate 2 hours before exercise, and combination studies used 300 to 500 mg nitrate per day.
A dose-response study cited by the ODS shows why amounts matter. 4.2 mmol nitrate from 70 mL concentrate for 4 days did not improve performance. 8.4 mmol from 140 mL did. 16.8 mmol from 280 mL added nothing further. More is not automatically better, and no single timing protocol has been universally validated.
Citrulline
Studies commonly use 6 to 9 g, including 8 g of citrulline malate about 1 hour before exercise, while longer trials used 3 g per day. Citrulline malate is citrulline bound to malate, so a gram of powder does not deliver a gram of citrulline. Our guide to L-citrulline dosage and label math walks through the arithmetic, and this explainer on L-citrulline versus L-citrulline malate answers the common label question.
A simple label check
- Find the active ingredient line, not the front-of-pack claim.
- For beetroot, look for a stated nitrate amount per serving.
- For citrulline, confirm whether the amount is free-form L-citrulline or citrulline malate.
- Compare per-serving amounts against the study ranges above.
- Multiply by servings per day, not servings per container.
Can you take them together?
Yes, many people do, and a few trials have tested it. The evidence is still thin: the authors of one study described scientific evidence on combining citrulline and beetroot extract as scarce.
- In a 9-week trial, 3 g/day citrulline plus 2.1 g/day beetroot extract providing 300 mg/day nitrate improved estimated VO2max relative to comparison groups. There were no significant group-by-time effects on strength tests.
- In a 9-week trial of 32 trained male triathletes, the same combination improved Cooper-test distance and some cortisol and testosterone-to-cortisol outcomes. It did not improve exercise-induced muscle damage markers.
- In a 2024 crossover trial in 20 elite male rowers, 7 days of beetroot extract providing 500 mg nitrate plus 6 g citrulline improved lactate clearance after a Wingate test and peak power in one test, with no further gains elsewhere.
The pattern: stacking has shown benefits mostly in endurance-type measures, over weeks, and not in strength. If your sport is endurance or mixed, a combination is a reasonable thing to discuss. If you lift for strength and size, neither ingredient is a core driver, and basics like creatine come first. See our comparison of creatine and beta-alanine for sprint times and our piece on caffeine, creatine and timing.
Which one should you choose?
| Your goal | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Running, cycling, rowing, swimming economy | Beetroot with a labeled nitrate amount | Most consistent endurance evidence, strongest in recreational athletes |
| Lower perceived effort in hard sessions | Citrulline at studied doses | Meta-analytic signal for lower perceived exertion |
| Less soreness the next day | Either, with modest expectations | Both show effects at 24 hours, fading by 72 hours |
| Endurance block over several weeks | Both, at studied doses | Small trials show endurance-type gains from the combination |
| Heavy lifting performance | Neither as a first move | A single-dose head-to-head showed no strength benefit |
Safety: who should check first
Beetroot can turn urine red or pink, which is harmless. Citrulline may cause stomach discomfort. The ODS also notes that review literature reports gastrointestinal symptoms, headache, heartburn or palpitations.
Both ingredients may affect vascular signaling and blood pressure. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before use if you have cardiovascular disease, low blood pressure or kidney problems, or if you take antihypertensive drugs, prescription nitrates or PDE5 inhibitors. Long-term safety of supplemental doses is not well established, so start at the lower end of studied ranges.
Our perspective
We approach this comparison the way we approach every formula: ingredient by ingredient, dose by dose. Beetroot and citrulline are not rivals so much as two tools aimed at different parts of the same pathway.
What we see athletes get wrong is buying on the name. A beetroot product without a stated nitrate amount, or a citrulline powder where malate quietly changes the math, leaves you guessing. Our approach is to pair products with educational guides so you can read a label, work out the real dose and match it to your training.
For endurance work, we point people to nitrate-standardized beetroot. For hard sessions where effort and next-day soreness are the concern, citrulline at studied amounts is a sensible option. Both can sit in the same routine when your goal calls for it.
Rene Harwood
Shop supplements for your goal
Ready to put this into practice? Browse our full supplement collections for energy, strength and fitness, gut health and more, and see the vitamins and minerals range for the basics that support any training plan.
Each product page lists what is in a serving, so you can compare it against the study ranges in this article before you order.
FAQ
Can citrulline be taken with beetroot?
Many people take them together, and small trials of 3 to 6 g citrulline with beetroot extract providing 300 to 500 mg nitrate have been run in trained athletes. Results were mostly in endurance measures, not strength. Check with your clinician first if you use blood pressure medication.
What is the difference between citrulline and L-citrulline?
L-citrulline is the form the body uses and the form sold in supplements, so in practice the terms usually mean the same thing. The label question that matters is free-form L-citrulline versus citrulline malate, which contains less citrulline per gram.
Is beetroot juice or powder better?
What matters is the nitrate you actually get. Products vary considerably, so compare the stated nitrate per serving rather than the form. Studies have used 70 to 250 mL of juice daily.
Does either one lower blood pressure?
Pooled trials show modest systolic reductions of roughly 4 to 7.5 mmHg for citrulline and about 5 mmHg for beetroot juice in hypertensive adults, with low certainty in some reviews. Do not replace medication, and talk to your doctor before using either for blood pressure.
Sources
- NIH ODS: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (Health Professional)
- NIH ODS: Dietary Supplements for Exercise and Athletic Performance (Consumer)
- Effects of Citrulline Malate and Beetroot Juice (2019)
- Effect of citrulline on post-exercise rating of perceived exertion and soreness (2020)
- The Effect of Nitrate-Rich Beetroot Juice on recovery (2021)
- Nitric oxide precursor interventions for post-exercise soreness (2026)
- Effects of L-citrulline supplementation on blood pressure (2019)
- Effect of L-citrulline supplementation on blood pressure: a meta-analysis (2019)
- Nitrate Derived From Beetroot Juice Lowers Blood Pressure (2022)
- Effects of beetroot juice on blood pressure in hypertension (2024)
- Combined Effects of Citrulline Plus Nitrate-Rich Beetroot (2021)
- Long-Term Combined Effects of Citrulline and Nitrate-Rich Beetroot (2022)
- Impact of a short-term nitrate and citrulline supplementation (2024)
- MOTS-c vs. NAD+: How Their Research Roles Differ
