Nitric Oxide Test Strips

We're here to help you understand your result.

Reviewed by a member of our support team, not software and not a clinician. Reply within one business day.

Nitric Oxide Test Strips

Read your result

What your result might look like.

One pad, read against the key on the pouch. The scale runs light pink through to deep 
pink — the deeper the colour, the higher the reading.

  • Depleted

    Depleted

    0.1 mg/dL

    What it means

    The lowest band on the key. Diets light on leafy greens push this down, and so can mouthwash or a recent course of antibiotics.

    What it doesn't mean

    This is a reading from one saliva sample, not a measure of your health. It doesn't diagnose anything.

    What to do next

    If you want to move the number, nitrate-rich foods are where the insert points. Test again after a few days of eating differently.
  • Low

    Low

    0.5 mg/dL

    What it means

    Below the band the key marks as adequate. Your body is producing some nitric oxide, just not much at the moment you tested.

    What it doesn't mean

    One low reading isn't a baseline. Levels move quickly with what you've eaten and how recently.

    What to do next

    Worth retesting at the same time of day across a few days before you read anything into it.
  • Adequate

    Adequate

    1.5 mg/dL

    What it means

    The target band on this key for general wellbeing.

    What it doesn't mean

    Landing here says what the strip read, not how you feel or perform. It isn't a health score.

    What to do next

    Nothing to change. If you train seriously, the key sets a higher band above this one.
  • Optimal

    Optimal

    3.0 mg/dL

    What it means

    The highest sustained band the key marks, and the one it points athletes toward.

    What it doesn't mean

    A reading here doesn't predict anything about performance. The strip reports a level in saliva and nothing beyond it.

    What to do next

    Keep doing what you're doing, and test at the same time of day so readings stay comparable.
  • Spike

    Spike

    10.0 mg/dL

    What it means

    A short-term peak, usually one to two hours after nitrate-rich food or a supplement. The insert describes this as a safe, temporary rise that settles back to baseline on its own.

    What it doesn't mean

    It isn't your usual level. Testing straight after beetroot juice or a supplement will land here and tell you very little.

    What to do next

    Test again later in the day, before food, to see where you actually sit.

Send us a photo

Pink bands look alike?

Five blocks of pink on one small key, and bathroom lighting shifts all of them. If your pad sits between two bands, send a photo and someone on our team will match it with you.

01

Hold the strip flat against the colour key on the pouch so both are in the same shot.

02

Take the photo at 1 minute. After 2 minutes the pad keeps changing and the reading no longer counts.

03

Daylight if you can, phone straight above, no shadow across the strip.

How this works

Your photo is reviewed by a member of our support team. They are not healthcare professionals and cannot diagnose a condition or advise on treatment. What they can do is help you read what your test is showing.

Nothing here is automated. Your photo stays confidential and is used only to answer you.

Lost the card from your kit? You can still send a photo. Put the cassette on a plain white surface in good light.

Upload your photo

Taking the test

A few things worth knowing first.

Small handling details, and one that trips people up.

  1. The strip never goes in your mouth. Spit into a clean, dry container, or gather saliva on a clean fingertip, and dip the strip into that.
  2. Check the pad is white before you start. If it's discoloured, use a different strip.
  3. Don't touch the test pad. Handle the strip by the plain end, and open the sealed pouch only when you're ready to test.
  4. Keep the colour key. It's printed on the pouch, so hold on to it until you've read your result.
  5. Store the strips dry, between 2 and 30°C, out of direct sunlight and away from humidity

Directions for use

How to take it.

About a minute.

  • STEP 01

    Collect saliva

    Spit into a clean, dry container, or gather saliva on a clean fingertip. Don't put the strip in your mouth.
  • STEP 02

    Saturate and blot

    Immerse the pad until it's completely saturated, then blot the side on a paper towel and lay the strip flat, pad facing up.
  • STEP 03

    Match at 1 minute

    Compare the pad to the colour key on the pouch, in good light.

Read at 1 minute, and not after 2. That's a 60-second window. The pad keeps developing past two minutes, and any colour it picks up after that should be ignored — a late read will push you toward the deeper end of the key.

WATCH IT DONE

The whole thing, start to finish.

Documents

Everything in writing.

Questions

The ones we hear most often.

Most likely, yes. Salivary nitrite moves quickly with what you've eaten, how recently, and what time of day it is. That's the nature of the marker, not a fault in the strip. The fix is consistency: same time of day, same point in your routine, and compare those readings to each other rather than to a single earlier one.

That's the spike band, and it's expected. It usually shows up one to two hours after nitrate-rich food or a supplement, and the instructions describe it as a safe, temporary rise that comes back down on its own. They don't give a time window for how long that takes, so the practical answer is to test again later in the day, before food, if you want to see where you normally sit.

Better not to. Brushing and mouthwash both change the bacteria in your mouth that this reaction depends on, so a reading taken straight afterwards won't reflect your usual level. Test before you brush, not after.

The instructions say to hold off until you've finished. Antibiotics act on the same oral bacteria involved here, so readings during a course won't be comparable to your others.

The first position on the key marks the bottom of the scale, where no nitrite is detected. The instructions don't print a value or separate guidance for it. If your pad matches there, read it the way you'd read Depleted, and retest in the morning before food or brushing to confirm.

Nitrite in your saliva. The pad uses a colour reaction that goes from light to deep pink as nitrite concentration rises, and research links salivary nitrite closely to salivary nitric oxide. It's a semi-quantitative read, which means it places you in a band rather than giving you an exact figure.

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  • Running low

    Nitric Oxide Test Strips

    30 individually sealed strips

  • Often used alongside

    Urinox-10 Urinalysis Test Strips

    Ten markers from one strip, including specific gravity

    Learn more

Nitric Oxide Test Strips give a semi-quantitative reading of nitrite in saliva for general health and wellness awareness. Nitrite is not the only indicator of wellbeing, and a reading can be affected by diet, timing, oral care and medication. This test does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition and is not a substitute for medical assessment. Talk to your provider about readings that concern you.