Creatine is a nitrogen containing organic acid, chemical formula CfourHnineNthreeOtwo, scientific name is N-methylguanidinoacetic acid, which naturally exists in vertebrates and can help provide energy for muscles and nerve cells.In 1832, the French chemist Michel Eug è ne Chevreul first found creatine in skeletal muscle, and then named it "Creatine" according to the Greek "Kreas" (meat).Creatine is mainly stored in muscle tissue, which can reduce muscle fatigue and tension, enhance muscle elasticity, make muscles stronger, accelerate the synthesis of human protein, reduce cholesterol, blood fat and blood sugar, delay the aging of the body, and play a role in high energy demand.[1]By supplementing creatine, the human body can increase creatine reserves, improve the level of creatine phosphate in muscles, and thus enhance the performance of short-term, high-intensity exercise.Research shows that creatine supplements can not only delay muscle fatigue, improve athletes' explosive power and endurance, but also help promote muscle growth and recovery. It is an effective nutritional supplement for bodybuilders and athletes.
Reference value of drainage parameter calculation (XlogP): - 1.2[4]
Number of hydrogen bond donors: 3
Number of hydrogen bond receptors: 3
Number of rotatable chemical bonds: 3
Number of tautomers: none
Topological molecular polar surface area: 90.4
Number of heavy atoms: 9
Surface charge: 0
Complexity: 134
Number of isotope atoms: 0
Determine the number of atomic structure centers: 0
Number of uncertain atomic structure centers: 0
Determine the number of chemical bond structure centers: 0
Number of uncertain chemical bond structure centers: 0
Number of covalent bond units: 1[2]
Composition
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Creatine is a naturally produced amino acid derivative in the human body. It can rapidly increase muscle strength, accelerate fatigue recovery, and improve explosive force.The more creatine is stored in the body, the stronger the strength and exercise ability will be.It can also be taken from food.
It can not only provide energy quickly (various activities of the human body rely on ATP, that is, adenosine triphosphate, to provide energy, but the storage of ATP in the human body is very small. When exercising, ATP will soon be exhausted, and creatine can quickly re synthesize ATP to supply energy).It can also increase strength, muscle and fatigue recovery.The more creatine is stored in the body, the more sufficient the energy supply will be, the faster fatigue recovery will be, and the stronger the exercise energy will be.[2]
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In 1832, French chemist Chevreu first discovered creatine in skeletal muscle;
In 1847, Liberg et al. confirmed that creatine was a component of mammalian muscle and believed that creatine was involved in muscle work;
Walker found in 1979 that creatine in the body can be synthesized not only from diet, but also from liver, kidney, pancreas and other tissues. However, a large amount of creatine exists in muscle, indicating that there is a transport system in the body that transfers creatine from the synthesis site to the muscle, which separates the synthesis of creatine from use.[5]
Content and distribution
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Creatine is found in skeletal muscle, brain, liver, kidney and other tissues. The total amount of creatine in a normal human body weighing 70kg is about 120g, 95% of which is found in skeletal muscle, brain, liver, kidney and other tissues with only a small amount of distribution.The renewal rate of creatine in muscle is 2 g creatine per day, which is metabolized and degraded into creatinine;The creatine content in normal human muscle is 125mmol/kg dry muscle. The creatine content in female is slightly higher than that in male muscle. The maximum creatine content is 150mmol/kg dry muscle.About 60% of the total creatine in the body is in the form of phosphocreatine.[5]The content of creatine phosphate in human body at rest is 3-4 times that of ATP.Creatine absorption may be affected by several factors.Exercise can affect the absorption of creatine. For example, during the period of creatine supplementation, the absorption of creatine in the exercise leg and the control experiment (that is, one leg moves the other leg does not move) is significantly more than that in the control leg.[5]Vitamin E and insulin can also affect the absorption of creatine. Vitamin E deficiency reduces the absorption of creatine by muscles;Creatine and insulin taken together increase muscle absorption of creatine[6]。
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Endogenous synthesis
The human body can produce creatine through endogenous synthesis.This process occurs in the liver, pancreas, kidney and other organs.The precursors of endogenous synthesis include glycine, which is converted into creatine through biosynthetic pathway.[7]Under normal circumstances, the human body can synthesize creatine. The endogenous synthesis of creatine is carried out in two steps, requiring two enzymes, L-arginine glycine amidotransferase (AGAT) and guanidinoacetic acid N-methyltransferase (GAMT). The first step is carried out in the kidney, liver, pancreas, brain and other parts containing AGAT. AGAT catalyzes the synthesis of guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) from arginine and glycine;The second step is mainly carried out in the liver. GAMT catalyzes the conversion of GAA to creatine[8]。
Dietary intake
Creatine exists in fish, meat and other foods, but the amount is very small (half a kilogram of meat can only provide 1 gram of creatine).To reach a daily intake of 5g helpful to human body, 2.5 kg of meat must be eaten every day, which is unlikely, so additional supplementation is needed.[1]
Replenishment
Creatine can also be obtained through oral supplements.Creatine supplements are usually in the form of creatine or creatine, which can be found in the nutritional supplement stores on the market.These supplements provide additional creatine, which helps increase muscle reserve and performance.
Creatine action
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Increase athletic performance
One of the main functions of creatine is to provide energy for muscle contraction.A large number of animal and clinical experimental studies have shown that creatine supplementation can increase muscle strength, increase maximum output power, and thus improve overall exercise ability.[9-12]In high-intensity exercise or training, creatine releases energy through the process of decomposing creatine phosphate to help regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP).ATP is one of the main energy sources for muscle contraction, and the presence of creatine can increase the available phosphate groups, thus accelerating the regeneration of ATP and delaying muscle fatigue.By increasing the level of creatine phosphate in muscle cells, creatine supplementation can increase the explosive force, endurance and strength of muscles.This is particularly important for athletes who engage in high-intensity, short-term sports such as weightlifting, sprinting and other events.
Reduce the risk of injury
Creatine supplementation during exercise can reduce the incidence of muscle and bone injury, dehydration and muscle spasm.In addition, creatine has neuroprotective effect
Promote muscle growth
Creatine is widely believed to have a positive effect on muscle growth.It can promote the synthesis of muscle protein, reduce protein degradation, and thus enhance the volume and quality of muscle.This makes creatine one of the commonly used supplements for bodybuilders and athletes, especially in the stage of muscle growth and recovery.
Improve exercise rehabilitation
Some studies have shown that creatine supplementation may help improve the rehabilitation process after sports injuries.It can promote the repair and regeneration of damaged muscle tissue, accelerate the recovery time, and reduce the risk of muscle atrophy after sports injury.[7]Creatine supplementation can help athletes increase glycogen reserves, reduce inflammation after strenuous exercise and the outflow of enzymes in muscle cells, thus promoting rapid recovery of athletes after high-intensity training.Before an exhaustive exercise, the combined supplementation of creatine and carbohydrates has a larger glycogen reserve after exercise than the supplementation of carbohydrates only. Glycogen plays a very important role in promoting recovery and preventing overtraining during intensive training.[13]Someone evaluated the effect of creatine supplementation on inflammatory markers and muscle soreness after exercise for experienced marathon runners before the 30 km race. The results showed that creatine supplementation reduced the changes of creatine kinase, prostaglandin E2 and tumor necrosis factor alpha, and did not increase lactate dehydrogenase compared with the control group.[14]Other studies showed that in the recovery process of sports muscle injury, the participants who supplemented creatine had significantly greater isokinetic and isometric knee joint extension strength. In addition, the plasma creatine kinase level in the creatine supplemented group was significantly lower than that in the control group after 2-7 days of recovery.[15]
Creatine safety
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A large number of studies have confirmed that reasonable supplementation of creatine is safe and its effect is reversible.After creatine supplementation to the saturation level, generally stop supplementation for 4 to 6 weeks, and the creatine level will return to the baseline level.Therefore, long-term creatine supplementation will not inhibit endogenous creatine synthesis.[16]However, excessive intake of nitrogen containing food may increase the burden on the kidneys, leading to impaired renal function.[17]The research also shows that short-term and long-term creatine supplementation will not have adverse effects on the kidney function, muscle and liver of athletes.A study of 94 football players found that creatine supplementation for 21 months had no adverse effect on the renal function indicators, muscle and liver injury markers of athletes.[18-19]In addition, some studies also found that long-term supplementation of creatine can improve the protein composition in muscle tissue, promote lean weight gain and fat quality reduction.[20]However, some studies have found that creatine supplementation may lead to weight gain[21]This is especially noteworthy for athletes who need to control their weight.Although it has been reported that creatine supplementation may cause some uncomfortable symptoms, such as spasm, dehydration and gastrointestinal discomfort, these symptoms have not been fully supported by evidence.Therefore, in general, the rational use of creatine supplements is safe for most healthy people, but for individuals with kidney or liver diseases, it should be used under the advice of doctors.
matters needing attention
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1、 Creatine selection.The acid is mainly divided into creatine monohydrate and creatine complex.Creatine monohydrate, namely pure creatine, is the cheapest, simplest and most widely used creatine on the market at present. It is the base material of compound creatine formula.Complex creatine is a scientific and reasonable mixture of pure creatine, rich glycogen, calcium pyruvate, phosphate and other nutritional enhancers, so that the human body can quickly absorb and use it, but it is expensive.It is suggested that users can add creatine monohydrate into sugar to make complex creatine, which can not only save money, but also achieve the purpose of nutritional supplement.[22]
2、 The use of creatine should match the strength or speed and other training contents. During the use of creatine, be careful not to overtrain to prevent muscle and ligament injuries.At the same time, it should be supplemented with protein and other nutrients to provide sufficient raw materials for muscle growth, otherwise there will be no ideal weight gain.During taking creatine, enough water should be added every day to ensure the hydration of cells, so as to prevent the side effects of muscle tightness, stiffness or spasm after using creatine.If the purpose is to improve muscle strength and explosive force, it is recommended to supplement creatine within half an hour to one hour before training.If it is to improve muscle circumference and increase muscle volume, supplement creatine within 2 hours after training, and the earlier the better.[22]
3、 How to use.Practitioners who use creatine for the first time should pay attention to the combination of shock period and maintenance period.[22]During the shock period of the first week, take creatine 4 times a day, 5 grams each time.If you exercise twice a day, you can take creatine once before and after training.If you practice once a day, do it before and after training.There is no fixed time limit for the other two times, as long as the interval is 4 hours.The purpose of the shock period is to make creatine in the body reach saturation in a short time.If there is no shock, it will take about 30 days to saturate creatine in the body.After the shock period, 5 grams of creatine per day can be used to maintain.The usual use schedule is 1 week of shock, 6 weeks of maintenance, then 2-3 weeks of shutdown, and then start a new cycle.[22]
4、 Creatine should be taken together with glucose or other sugary drinks (except fructose), because the rise of insulin concentration caused by sugar accelerates the absorption of creatine by muscle cells.[23]Studies have shown that creatine and sugar taken together can increase the reserve of creatine phosphate in muscle by 60%.Fructose is an exception. Because fructose and glucose are metabolized in different ways, it does not need insulin, so it cannot improve the absorption rate of creatine.In addition to fructose, honey also contains glucose, oligosaccharides, minerals, amino acids, vitamin B group and other nutrients;When it is taken together with creatine, the oligosaccharides and glucose in honey play a role in promoting the absorption of creatine, rather than fructose.
Artificial synthesis
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Synthetic creatine usually refers to creatine obtained through chemical synthesis or bioengineering technology. It is the same in chemical structure as naturally produced creatine, so it is usually similar in function and effect.
According to research findings[24]There are three main routes to synthesize creatine:
(1) Creatine was synthesized from chloroacetic acid, methylamine and cyanamide aqueous solution.
(2) Cyanamide and sarcosine sodium or sarcosine potassium are used in water or in the mixture of water and organic solvent at the temperature of 20 ℃~150 ℃ and pH of 7~14.
(3) Creatine or creatine monohydrate is prepared by reacting sodium sarcosine or potassium sarcosine with cyanamide at 20 ℃~150 ℃ and pH 7.0~14.0, which includes pH adjustment with carbonic acid.
At present, the production method commonly used in the scale production of creatine at home and abroad is the sodium aminocyanide sarcosine method. Because the raw material is highly toxic, the production is very dangerous.
Ecological data
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Water hazard level 1 (German regulation) (self assessment by list) This substance is slightly harmful to water.
Do not allow undiluted or large quantities of products to come into contact with groundwater, waterways or sewage systems.
Do not discharge materials into the surrounding environment without government permission.[2]
