BACKGROUND Extracts of Russian Tarragon (RT) have been reported to produce anti-hyperglycemic effects and influence plasma creatine (Cr) levels while supplementing with creatine monohydrate (CrM). The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine if short-term, low-dose aqueous RT extract ingestion prior to CrM supplementation influences whole body Cr retention, muscle Cr or measures of an...

Four experiments were conducted to determine the effect of dietary ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate (OKG) and creatine monohydrate on growth performance and plasma metabolites of nursery pigs. In each experiment, treatments were replicated with four to five pens of four to six pigs each. Each experiment lasted from 3 to 4 wk and Phase I (1.6% Lys) and Phase II (1.3 to 1.5% Lys) diets were fed for ...

The effects of leg immobilization and retraining in combination with oral creatine intake on muscle AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) protein expression and phosphorylation status were investigated. A double-blind trial was performed in young healthy volunteers (n = 22). A cast immobilized the right leg for 2 wk, whereafter the knee-extensor muscles of that leg were retrained for 6 wk. Half o...

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of a seven-day creatine monohydrate (CrM) supplementation on oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation after incremental exercise to exhaustion in wrestlers. Thirty-one college-aged male wrestlers (age 19.52±2.75 years, body mass 79.24±16.13 kg, height 173±6.49 cm, and body fat 16.37±5.92%) volunteered to participate in this double-blind, pl...

E-M. Ratai, N. Atassi, S. Wallace, J. Bombardier, D. Greenblatt, M. Cudkowicz, and A. Dibernardo Department of Radiology, A. A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States, Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States, Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospi...

During the past decade, the nutritional supplement creatine monohydrate has been gaining popularity exponentially. Introduced to the general public in the early 1990s, shortly after the Barcelona Olympic Games, creatine (Cr) has become one of the most widely used nutritional supplements or ergogenic aids, with loading doses as high as 20-30 g·day(-1) for 5-7 days typical among athletes. This pa...

Creatine has beneficial effect on strength training athletes, but it is not clear whether it has any effect on endurance sport. Present study has been designed to investigate the effect of creatine supplementation on cardiovascular adaptation to sub maximal exercise and endurance performance. A total of 60 male athletes (age range 16-19 years) were selected and randomly divided into experimenta...

Physical exercises are important for maintaining physical strength and general health state, particularly for the senior citizens. However, after strenuous exercises, the feeling of intense fatigue is also particularly common among the elderlies, who might be discouraged to persist on the physical trainings. Post exercise fatigue is in fact manifestations of “Oxidative Stress” resulting from th...

PURPOSE Long-term safety of creatine supplementation has been questioned. This retrospective study was performed to examine markers related to health, the incidence of reported side effects and the perceived training benefits in athletes supplementing with creatine monohydrate. METHODS Twenty-six athletes (18 M and 8 F, 24.7 +/- 9.2 y; 82.4 +/- 20.0 kg; 176.5 +/- 8.8 cm) from various sports w...