A new handbook by pharmaceutical researcher Mehdi Boroujerdi reviews how creatine is produced, stored and metabolized in the body, and summarizes evidence that supplementation can improve short-burst exercise performance while researchers continue to study possible benefits for cognition and certain health conditions.
Creatine—best known as a sports supplement—plays a central role in the body’s rapid energy system by helping regenerate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that powers cells during high-demand activity.
According to a summary released by Taylor & Francis Group via ScienceDaily, creatine is produced naturally in the liver, kidneys and pancreas using amino acids including glycine, arginine and methionine. Once synthesized, it circulates in the bloodstream and is taken up by energy-hungry tissues—especially skeletal muscle. The release said about 95% of the body’s creatine is stored in skeletal muscle, with smaller amounts in the brain, heart and other organs.
Inside cells, creatine is converted into phosphocreatine, which helps rapidly regenerate ATP. After it is used, creatine breaks down into creatinine, a waste product filtered by the kidneys and excreted in urine.
The ScienceDaily release highlights an in-depth review by Dr. Mehdi Boroujerdi, described as a pharmaceutical researcher and former professor, in his Handbook of Creatine and Creatinine In Vivo Kinetics: Production, Distribution, Metabolism, and Excretion. In the release, Boroujerdi also addresses a common misconception linking creatine to anabolic drugs:
“Creatine's role in muscle development is solely to provide energy for contraction and respiration, it is certainly not a substitute for steroids.”
Beyond its well-established use in improving short bursts of high-intensity exercise performance, the release says researchers are investigating creatine’s potential effects on brain-related outcomes such as memory, mood and processing speed, particularly in people with lower baseline creatine levels. It adds that creatine is also being explored in a range of health contexts—including Parkinson’s disease, depression and menopause-related muscle and bone loss—while emphasizing that more evidence is needed before drawing firm conclusions.
