Insufficient blood supply is associated with high levels of necrosis in reconstructive surgery. Restoring blood flow to undersupplied ischemic tissue is the most important impact factor determining skin flap viability. Dietary nitrate, a significant source of nitric oxide, has multiple physiological functions, including regulator of blood flow, angiogenesis, and vasodilatation. However, the effects of dietary nitrate on ischemic skin flap remain unknown. The present study evaluated whether dietary nitrate supplementation altered blood flow of ischemic skin flap in rats. Our results showed that nitrate treatment significantly enhanced ischemic tissue survival. Mechanistically, nitrate therapy significantly increased serum nitrate and nitrite levels, blood perfusion, and angiogenesis. In addition, the circulating levels of Inflammatory mediators were decreased by nitrate supplementation. In conclusion, we demonstrated that dietary nitrate supplementation protected ischemic skin flap by enhancing ischemia-induced revascularization. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.