Beetroot Nitrate Capsules

These capsules are filled with spray-dried water extract of red beetroot, Beta vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris (Conditiva Group), standardised on dietary nitrate rather than on a bare extract ratio. Nitrate is the marker this category is actually bought on, and it is also the figure that varies most between commercial beetroot articles: published surveys of beetroot powders and juices sold online report wide, sometimes order-of-magnitude variation in nitrate content between products carrying similar label wording. A stated NO3− percentage assayed by ion chromatography or HPLC-UV is what makes one lot comparable to the next. Standard grades are 2.0%, 3.0% and 6.5% minimum nitrate; at a 500 mg fill on the 3.0% grade, one capsule carries 15 mg of nitrate, and the arithmetic is stated on the specification so a brand can build its panel without guesswork. Three beetroot articles circulate under confusingly similar names and they are not interchangeable. Spray-dried beetroot juice powder is whole juice dried, usually on a maltodextrin carrier, with a low and generally unstandardised nitrate figure. Beetroot red (E162) is a colour specification sold on pigment and governed by colour legislation. This capsule uses a concentrated nitrate-standardised extract; betalain-standardised grades at 0.5 to 1.0% total betalains (betanin, isobetanin and vulgaxanthin I) are offered separately where the buyer's specification is pigment rather than nitrate. Handling is the practical constraint. The powder is deeply staining and hygroscopic, so encapsulation needs dedicated tooling, humidity control on the line and a moisture-barrier pack; blister formats are worth the cost in hot and humid destination markets. Nitrite is screened and reported on every lot, with the maximum limit agreed in writing before the first production run rather than left to a house standard. The fill is plant-derived with no animal input. With the standard size 0 hypromellose shell the capsule is vegan and vegetarian; bovine gelatin shells are available to order and are neither. The extract is free of milk, egg, soy, fish, crustacean, tree nut, peanut and gluten, though the maize maltodextrin on carrier-bearing grades is still a declarable ingredient. Beetroot naturally carries oxalate, whose level moves with variety, growing conditions and season; it is reported on request rather than held to a fixed limit, and buyers formulating for sensitive consumer groups should ask for lot data. Dietary nitrate intake is regulated as a food component in several markets and permitted claim wording differs widely between them. No health claim is made or implied here; substantiation and label compliance in the destination market are the brand owner's responsibility.