Creatine stability: facts and
fiction
Researched and composed by Vic Goyaram
Kre-Alkalyn is marketed on
the basis of the lack of stability of Creatine Monohydrate.
But is Creatine really
unstable in the stomach?
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Stability defined
Creatine stability can be
defined as the rate at which it degrades into its degradation product
Creatinine. In a stable creatine
preparation little degradation would occur. The most stable state of creatine
is in the solid form. I have good news for creatine sellers because solid
undissolved creatine is very stable. Even at temperatures of 40deg Celcius your
tub of creatine monohydrate will not degrade. If you subject the powder to
60deg Celcius you will detect creatinine only after 44 months (1)! I witnessed
the birth of liquid Creatines (e.g the GNC Creatine serum back in 2002) and
knew straightaway that this formulation wouldn't last long on the shelves.
Creatine stability in
solution
I am very sad to announce
that Creatine is not very stable in solution. Therefore you should not mix
creatine and leave the drink for a long time. The degradation of creatine in
solution is dependent on the temperature and the pH. The higher the temperature
and the lower (more acidic) the pH the faster the rate of degradation. If a
neutral solvent is used (eg water) creatine is rather stable and here
temperature will be the determining factor. The inclusion of Creatine in drinks
is not a good idea and even if manufacturers bring out "novel" forms
of creatine the stability won't necessarily be better, trust me. Here are
some implications for the bodybuilder:
- Do not mix Creatine in acidic solutions or hot solutions
- You can dissolve Creatine in lukewarm but not hot water
- If you mix creatine in water and can't drink it, store it in the fridge.
In the stomach, the issue
of pH comes into play because as you know the stomach is an acidic environment
because of the secretion of gastric juice which contains Hydrochloric acid. The
lower (more acidic) the pH the greater the rate of degradation of creatine into
Creatinine as shown in the graph below:
Degradation of Creatine increases with increasing acidity |
Under low pH Creatine
degrades by the process called intramolecular cyclization. Do not worry, I am
not swearing at you. It means that the high acidity changes the open structure of creatine into the ring-like structure of creatinine.
The conversion of Creatine into the waste product Creatinine |
If creatine degrades in
acidic pH why bother taking it then?
The industry has taken the
observation that creatine is unstable in acidic solution to come up with more
expensive "novel" forms of creatine like Creatine ethyl ester (CEE)
and Kre-Alkalyn (buffered creatine). These novel forms, seriously lacking
scientific backing, are pushed as being superior to creatine monohydrate in
terms of being able to escape the degradative effects of stomach acids, thus
more easily absorbed and bioavailable to the body.
Read this carefully
please: Creatine can be stabilised by increasing the acidity further. While
creatine degrades at pH 3.5, it is stable at a lower pH (below 3). The pH of
the stomach is generally 2 and creatine is stable in the stomach (Ref 2,3)!! At
such a low pH Creatine gains a positive charge in the NH2 group to become NH3+.
This positive charge prevents the transformer movie to take place, meaning it
prevents the molecular cyclization process that makes your urine expensive to
occur.
At extreme low (acidic) pH creatine "mops" up the acidity. In this process it gains a a positive charge which prevents it from degrading
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The take-home lesson
The take home lesson is
that Creatine monohydrate is very stable in the stomach unlike the industry
wants you to believe. The conversion of creatine to creatinine in the stomach
and GI tract is minimal regardless of transit time. The industry played with people's belief of
the stomach being acid to introduce new pH stable forms of creatine on the
market. This is because for every scientist who dug into the pharmacokinetic
data on creatine there exists a million people who are unaware of the truth.
Creatine ester and
kre-alkalyn to Creatine monohydrate (4, 5).
References:
1. Jäger R (2003) The use
of creatine monohydrate in sports nutrition, Freising, Germany.
2. Deldicque L, Decombaz
J, Zbinden Foncea H, Vuichoud J, Poortmans JR, Francaux M. Kinetics of creatine
ingested as a food ingredient. Eur J Appl Physiol. 2008;102(2):133–143.
3. Persky AM, Brazeau GA,
Hochhaus G. Pharmacokinetics of the dietary supplement creatine. Clin
Pharmacokinet. 2003;42(6):557–574
4. Jager et al. Analysis
of the efficacy, safety, and regulatory status of novel forms of creatine.
Amino Acids. 2011 May; 40(5): 1369–1383
5. KRE-ALKALYN
SUPPLEMENTATION DOES NOT PROMOTE GREATER CHANGES IN MUSCLE CREATINE CONTENT,
BODY COMPOSITION, OR TRAINING ADAPTATIONS IN COMPARISON TO CREATINE
MONOHYDRATE. Jagim et al. Poster presentation at the 2012 ISSN conference. link
http://www.ergo-log.com/kre-alkalyn-vs-creapure-werkzaamheid.pdf
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©,2013, Veeraj Goyaram, Bodybuilding Mauritius. Any reprinting in any type of media is prohibited.
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The Creatine products shown are trademarks of NUCARE Nutrition and The Protein Co.
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