
				Print a Friendly Version					Download Full Version in Adobe Reader

Research Paper

Plasma Levels of Creatine After
Ingesting Proteabolic Mass Nutrients™

Introduction
Muscle function depends on three factors: electrical stimulus, chemical energy and mechanical interaction. For a muscle to contract, it needs to have a sufficient source of available energy. The basic energy source for muscle function is adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This high-energy phosphate is available within our muscles, but is quickly depleted during maximum-effort exercise. Once depleted, the ATP stores must be replenished for muscle contraction to continue. When a muscle contracts, ATP is hydrolyzed, or split into adenosine diphosphate (ADP), which must be continuously replenished.

Creatine (Cr) is another important element of muscle function because it is essential to the formation of ATP. Over 95% of the total creatine content in humans is located in the skeletal muscles, of which approximately one third is in its free form. The remainder is present in a phosphorylated form (PCr). As energy demands increase, PCr is degraded and the body donates phosphate to the ADP in order to regenerate ATP. During a brief bout of high intensity exercise, the ATP demand in the working muscles increases to several hundred times higher than when the body is at rest. Following high intensity exercise, approximately half of the pre-exercise creatine content is restored within one minute of recovery. Studies have shown that resynthesis of creatine is 85-90% complete after approximately five to six minutes of rest.

Creatine levels can be increased in humans by oral administration of creatine monohydrate, a white powder that is soluble in warm water. Creatine has become popular as a nutrient in sport supplements and is available by itself – in capsules or powder form – or as an ingredient in many sport powders and drinks. Infinity2 has included creatine in its Proteabolic Mass Nutrients™ powder in combination with other nutrients, in order to form a synergistic formulation.

Purpose
The purpose of this study was to compare the increase in the plasma creatine after ingesting Proteabolic Nutrients with the increases caused by other combinations of creatine.

Methods
Four groups with three healthy males in each group were given the following solutions:

Group One: One serving of Proteabolic Mass Nutrients containing 2.5 grams creatine.
Group Two: 500 mg of magnesium glycyl glutamine with 50 grams of dextrose.
Group Three: five grams of creatine with two Digest-a-Meal (digestive enzyme supplement) capsules.
Group Four: five grams of creatine with 50 grams of dextrose.

Blood samples were taken immediately prior to ingestion of the solutions and at 30-minute intervals for 90 minutes following ingestion of the solutions (0, 30, 60, and 90 min).

Results
Baseline plasma creatine levels were not significantly different between groups. There were no significant increases in plasma creatine levels for groups two, three or four during the study period. Plasma creatine levels were significantly greater for group one (Proteabolic Mass Nutrients) at 30, 60 and 90 minutes compared to all other groups. Plasma creatine levels for group 1 (Proteabolic Mass Nutrients) were at least twice that of baseline levels at both 30 minutes and 60 minutes and remained elevated even after 90 minutes. Figure 1 shows the comparative results of these tests.

Discussion
Creatine levels can be increased in humans by oral administration of creatine monohydrate. Various studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of various creatine solutions, but none of these studies have utilized a combination of enzymes, glutamine, branch chain amino acids, creatine and carbohydrate as used in Proteabolic Mass Nutrients. Glutamine and branch chain amino acids are also extremely important for muscle metabolism and recovery from exercise and/or injury.

Group 1, which ingested the Proteabolic Mass Nutrients, achieved significantly greater increases in plasma creatine than other groups. The participants taking the Proteabolic Mass Nutrients showed a peak increase in their creatine plasma levels of at least twice the base level. This demonstrated the unquestionable effectiveness of this combination of ingredients to effectively elevate plasma creatine levels.

Also, of particular interest was group four, which ingested five grams of creatine – an amount twice that of group one (2.5 g) – but showed only small increases in plasma creatine levels. It is possible that the large doses of dextrose (50g) taken in conjunction with the creatine inhibited or delayed the absorption of creatine, but this is unlikely. Studies demonstrating that carbohydrate (as glucose and simple sugars) enhances creatine absorption and utilization have used even larger doses of carbohydrate.

Conclusion
This study shows that Proteabolic Mass Nutrients can significantly increase plasma creatine levels. Proteabolic Mass Nutrients (group one) with only 2.5 grams of creatine produced better results than other
creatine solutions with smaller amounts of creatine. We believe that the other nutrients in the Proteabolic Mass Nutrients powder enhance the bioavailability of creatine within the body.

© 2000 Infinity2, Inc. Form #1912 Rev. 07/13/00