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What is Creatine?
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What is Creatine?
Creatine a natural substance is a nitrogenous
organic acid that occurs in all vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle
cells. Creatine was discovered in 1832 by Michel Eugène Chevreul who identified
it as a component of skeletal muscle which he called creatine after the Greek
word for flesh, Kreas. Creatine functions as part of a system based on arginine/phosphoarginine
that operates in many invertebrates. The presence of this energy shuttle keeps
the ATP/ADP ratio high, which ensures that the free energy of ATP remains high
and minimizes the loss of adenosine nucleotides, which would cause cellular
dysfunction. Creatine is sold in both powders & tablet form. Sometimes it is
mixed in with other compounds to increase the efficiency of the delivery of the
product to the body system. It is also available in different forms such as
Monohydrate ( the most common often sold in powder form) Kre-Alkalyn ( normally
found in purple capsules ) and Creatine Ethyl Ester ( used as the basis for the
more powerful versions).
In the human body, creatine is synthesized mainly in the liver by the use of
parts from three different amino acids - arginine, glycine, and methionine. 95%
of it is later stored in the skeletal muscles, with the rest in the brain,
heart, and testes.
The enzyme GATM (Guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase, also known as L-arginine:glycine
amidinotransferase (AGAT), EC 2.1.4.1), is a mitchondrial enzyme responsible for
catalyzing the first rate-limiting step of creatine biosynthesis, and is
primarily expressed in the kidneys.The second enzyme in the pathway (GAMT,
guanidinoacetate N-methyltransferase, EC:2.1.1.2) is primarily expressed in the
liver. Genetic deficiencies in the creatine biosynthetic pathway lead to various
severe neurological defects.
In humans, typically 50% of stored creatine originates from food (mainly from
meat and fish). However, endogenous synthesis of creatine in the liver is
sufficient for normal activities. This is evidenced by the fact that even though
vegetables do not contain creatine, vegetarians do not suffer from creatine
deficiency. Addition of creatine to the vegetarian diet has been shown to
improve athletic performance [1] . Vegetarian creatine can be obtained via
chemical synthesis using plant-derived amino acids.
Creatine supplementation has been, and continues to be, investigated as a
therapeutic approach for the treatment of many things including -
muscular, neurological and neuromuscular diseases (arthritis, congestive heart
failure, disuse atrophy, gyrate atrophy, McArdle's disease, Huntington's
disease, miscellaneous neuromuscular diseases, mitochondrial diseases, muscular
dystrophy, neuroprotection, etc.).
Two scientific studies have indicated that creatine may be beneficial for
neuromuscular disorders. First, a study (Klivenyi et al. 1999) by MDA-funded
researcher M. Flint Beal of Cornell University Medical Center demonstrated that
creatine was twice as effective as the prescription drug riluzole in extending
the lives of mice with the degenerative neural disease amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease). Beal suspects that the neuroprotective
effects of creatine in the mouse model of ALS are due either to an increased
availability of energy to injured nerve cells or to a blocking of the chemical
pathway that leads to cell death.
Second, a study by Canadian researchers Mark Tarnopolsky and Joan Martin of
McMaster University Medical Center in Hamilton, Ontario found that creatine can
cause modest increases in strength in people with a variety of neuromuscular
disorders. The latter paper was published in the March 1999 issue of Neurology.
Hospitals and doctors routinely measure blood creatinine levels to determine
kidney function. Creatine is broken down to creatinine, which is eliminated
through the kidneys. High creatinine serum levels are thus an indication of
renal failure.
In 1912, researchers found that ingesting creatine can dramatically boost the
creatine content of the muscle. In the late 1920s, after finding that the
intramuscular stores of creatine can be increased by ingesting creatine in
larger than normal amounts, scientists discovered creatine phosphate, and
determined that creatine is a key player in the metabolism of skeletal muscle.
While creatine's influence on physical performance has been well documented
since the early twentieth century, it only recently came into public view
following the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona. An August 7, 1992 article in The Times
reported that Linford Christie, the gold medal winner at 100 meters, had
utilized creatine prior to the Olympics, and an article in Bodybuilding Monthly
named Britain's Sally Gunnell, gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, as
another creatine user. Several medal-winning British rowers also used creatine
during their preparations for the Barcelona games. Most of the original studies
have involved Creatine Monohydrate - recent studies have shown that other forms
are much more effective.
Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE) is becoming a widely used form of creatine, with many
companies now carrying both creatine monohydrate-based supplements and Creatine
Ethyl Ester supplements, or combinations of both. CEE is touted to have
absorption rates tens of times higher than regular creatine monohydrate by
several supplement companies - however no peer-reviewed studies have emerged to
conclusively prove these claims. Once ingested, however, creatine is highly
bioavailable (easily measured by its plasma appearance kinetics and urinary
excretion), whether it is ingested as the crystalline monohydrate form, the free
form in solution, or even in meat. Creatine salts will become the free form when
dissolved in aqueous solution. With studies repeatedly reporting an upper
maximal range for muscular creatine concentration, it is unlikely that the form
of creatine ingested results in increased or altered final gains. [citation
needed]
Creatine Ethyl Ester (CEE) is not allowed to be sold in Germany and France.
Creatine is often taken by humans as a supplement for those wishing to gain
muscle mass (bodybuilding). There are a number of forms but the most common are
creatine monohydrate - creatine bonded with a molecule of water, and creatine
ethyl ester (CEE) – which is creatine monohydrate with an ester attached. A
number of methods for ingestion exist - as a powder mixed into a drink, or as a
pill.
There is scientific evidence that taking creatine supplements can increase
athletic performance in high-intensity anaerobic repetitive cycling sprints, but
studies in swimmers and runners have been less than promising, possibly due to
the weight gain. Ingesting creatine can increase the level of phosphocreatine in
the muscles up to 20%.
Some studies have shown that creatine supplementation increases both total and
fat-free body mass, though it is difficult to say how much of this is due to the
training effect. Since body mass gains of about 1 kg (about 2.2 pounds) can
occur in a week's time, several studies suggest that the gain is simply due to
greater water retention inside the muscle cells. However, studies into the
long-term effect of creatine supplementation suggest that body mass gains cannot
be explained by increases in intracellular water alone. In the longer term, the
increase in total body water is reported to be proportional to the weight gains,
which means that the percentage of total body water is not significantly
changed. The magnitude of the weight gains during training over a period of
several weeks argue against the water-retention theory.
Research has also shown that creatine increases the activity of myogenic
cells. These cells, sometimes called satellite cells, are myogenic stem cells
that make hypertrophy (increase in size of cells) of adult skeletal muscle
possible. These stem cells are simply generic or non-specific cells that have
the ability to form new muscle cells following damage to the muscle tissue, or
to fuse with the existing muscle fibres in the case of exercise to permit growth
of the muscle fibre. Following proliferation (reproduction) and subsequent
differentiation (to become a specific type of cell), these satellite cells will
fuse with one another or with the adjacent damaged muscle fiber, thereby
increasing myonuclei numbers necessary for fiber growth and repair. The study,
published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine was able to show that
creatine supplementation increased the number of myonuclei donated from
satellite cells. This increases the potential for growth of those fibers. This
increase in myonuclei probably stems from creatine's ability to increase levels
of the myogenic transcription factor MRF4 (Hespel, 2001).
Other studies indicate that short-term creatine supplementation in healthy
individuals is safe (Robinson et al., 2000). Longer-term studies have
occasionally been done, but have been small. One such study that is often cited
involved a minimum length of 3 months, but only had 10 creatine subjects (Mayhew
et al 2002).
There has been controversy over the incidence of muscle cramping with the use of
creatine. A study at the University of Memphis showed no reports of muscle
cramping in subjects taking creatine-containing supplements during various
exercise training conditions in trained and untrained endurance athletes (Kreider
R. et al, 1998). Cramping though is typically associated with Creatine
Monohydrate Powder and is not a problem with either Kre-Alkalyn or Creatine
Ethyl Ester.
Creatine use is not considered doping and is not banned by sport-governing
bodies.
References:
Burke DG, Chilibeck PD, Parise G,
Tarnopolsky MA, Candow DG. (2003). "Effect of alpha-lipoic acid combined with
creatine monohydrate on human skeletal muscle creatine and phosphagen
concentration.". Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. Sep (13). PMID 14669930..
Dangott B, Schultz E, Mozdziak PE. (2000). "Dietary creatine monohydrate
supplementation increases satellite cell mitotic activity during compensatory
hypertrophy". International Journal of Sports Medicine 2000 Jan (21(1):): 13-6.
PMID 10683092..
Engelhardt M, Neumann G, Berbalk A, Reuter I. (1998). "Creatine supplementation
in endurance sports.". British Journal of Med Sci Sports Exerc. 30 (7): 1123-9.
PMID 9662683.
Greenhaff PL et al. (1993). "Influence of oral creatine supplementation on
muscle torque during repeated bouts of maximal voluntary exercise in men.".
Clinical Science 84: 565-571. PMID 8504634..
Hespel P, Op't Eijnde B, Van Leemputte M, Urso B, Greenhaff PL, Labarque V,
Dymarkowski S, Van Hecke P, Richter EA. (2001). "Oral creatine supplementation
facilitates the rehabilitation of disuse atrophy and alters the expression of
muscle myogenic factors in humans". J Physiol. 2001 Oct 15 (536(Pt 2)): 625-33.
PMID 11600695..
Hultman E, Soderlund K, Timmons JA, et al. (1996). "Muscle creatine loading in
men.". J Appl Physiol (81): 232-237. PMID 8828669..
Juhn MS. (2003). "Popular sports supplements and ergogenic aids". Sports Med. 33
(2): 921-39. PMID 12974658.
Klivenyi P, Ferrante RJ, Matthews RT, Bogdanov MB, Klein AM, Andreassen OA,
Mueller G, Wermer M, Kaddurah-Daouk R, Beal MF. (mar 1999). "Neuroprotective
effects of creatine in a transgenic animal model of amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis.". Nature Medicine. 5 (3): 347-350. PMID 10086395..
Kreider R. (1998). "Creatine: The Ergogenic/Anabolic Supplement". Mesomorphosis
1 (4). [3]
Kreider R, Rasmussen C, Ransom J, Almada AL. (1998). "Effects of creatine
supplementation during training on the incidence of muscle cramping, injuries
and GI distress.". J Strength Cond Res. 12 (275).
Mayhew DL, Mayhew JL, Ware JS (2002). "Effects of long-term creatine
supplementation on liver and kidney functions in American college football
players.". Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 12 (4): 453-60. PMID 12500988..
Phillips, Bill. "Sports Supplememt Review 3rd issue. (2000)".
Powers ME et al. (2003). "Creatine Supplementation Increases Total Body Water
Without Altering Fluid Distribution". Journal of Athletic Training 38 (1):
44-50. PMID 12937471..
Rae C, Digney AL, McEwan SR, Bates TC. (2003). "Oral creatine monohydrate
supplementation improves cognitive performance; a placebo-controlled,
double-blind cross-over trial.". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London -
Biological Sciences 270 (1529): 2147-2150. PMID 14561278..
Robinson TM et al. (2000). "Dietary creatine supplementation does not affect
some haematological indices, or indices of muscle damage and hepatic and renal
function". British Journal
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