Oral Creatine Supplementation in Mice Induces Hepatic Protein Overload

Oral creatine supplementation is increasingly practised by athletes to improve performance in various types of exercise. While many studies have investigated the effects on skeletal muscle, little is known about the effects of creatine ingestion on hepatic tissue. In this study, a group of mice received creatine supplementation for a period of six days and some hepatic parameters were compared with a control group. The creatine supplemented animals showed a pronounced gain in body weight probably due to water retention. Their hepatic protein content was increased by 23%, and liver phosphocreatine concentration showed a similar increase. Among the hepatic enzymes studied, GOT decreased and GPT showed a tendency to increase; both changes can be explained by metabolic alterations due to overload of the amino acid components of creatine. ATP concentrations and CK activity did not change after creatine feeding. The results speak in favour of a moderate hepatic protein overload with concomitant metabolic alterations after creatine supplementation.