Serum nitrate and nitrite levels among long term meditators: A pilot study

Abstract

Methods: The nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) levels of long-term, experienced meditators (n=10), recruited using a validated interview, and age, gender and educational level matched control subjects (n=10) who had never practiced meditation, were determined using the modified Griess assay. The standard curve was plotted using a serial dilution of NaNO2. Nitrate and nitrite levels of the meditators and controls were compared using independent sample t-test and the correlation between nitrate and nitrite levels and socio-demographic factors was tested using Pearson correlation. Results: The long-term mediator group (mean age ± SEM of 38.05±7.920) had lower total nitrate (5.07 ± 0.312, mean ± SEM) and nitrite levels (0.51 ± 0.046) compared to the non-meditator group who had total nitrate levels of 5.44 ±0.452 (p=0.041) and nitrite levels of 0.95 ±0.509 (p=0.049). The total nitrate levels or nitrite levels had no correlation with the socio-demographic factors such as age [r(NO3-)=(-0.399), r(NO2-)=(-0.042)], gender [r(NO3-)=(-0.008), r(NO2-)=(-0.145)], height [r(NO3-)=(-0.044), r(NO2-)=(0.266, weight [r(NO3-)=(-0.116), r(NO2-)=(-0.086)], marital status [r(NO3-)=(-0.014), r(NO2-)=(0.220)], educational level [r(NO3-)=(-0.173), r(NO2-)=(-0.588)], alcohol consumption [r(NO3-)=(-0.053), r(NO2-)=(-0.145)], number of sleeping hours per [r(NO3-)=(-0.060), r(NO2-)=(-0.125)], number of hours exercising per day [r(NO3-)=(-0.167), r(NO2-)=(-0.293)] and number of hours spent outdoors per day [r(NO3-)=(0.139), r(NO2)=(0.170)]. Conclusion: The findings of the study suggests a lower production of nitric oxide in the long-term meditators with potential beneficial effects against oxidative stress. This emphasizes the need for further evaluation using a larger sample of long-term meditators and controls.