Effect of creatine supplementation on muscle metabolic response to a maximal treadmill exercise test in Standardbred horses.

This research examined the effects of creatine supplementation on the muscle metabolic response of Standardbred horses during intense exercise. The researchers found that the creatine doses used in this study did not significantly impact muscle metabolism.

Study Setup and Methodology

• The study began with a standardised treadmill exercise test, established to cause a significant anaerobic metabolic response and adenine nucleotide degradation. This test involved 6 Standardbred trotters exercising at an increasingly fast pace until they could no longer maintain the speed.
• Following the initial exercise test, the horses were divided into two groups, with one group receiving a supplement of 25g of creatine monohydrate twice a day, and the other receiving a placebo in the form of lactose. This supplementation period lasted for 6.5 days.
• After this supplementation period, the treadmill exercise test was conducted again, with the same speed steps and exercise duration as the original test. There was then a 14-day washout period during which treatment was swapped between the two groups, followed by a further 6.5 days of supplementation and a second re-run of the exercise test.

Data Collection and Analysis

• Determinations of various muscle and blood metabolites and parameters were collected before and after exercise, as well as during recovery. These included plasma and muscle creatine levels, plasma lactate, creatinine, hypoxanthine, xanthine and uric acid concentrations, and total blood volume (TBV).
• Analysis of these factors did not indicate a significant increase in either plasma or muscle total creatine concentration following creatine supplementation. There were also observable increases in lactate and inosine monophosphate (IMP) concentrations and decreases in ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) concentrations post-exercise in all subjects regardless of supplementation.
• The increases in plasma lactate and uric acid during exercise and recovery, along with the lack of noticeable impact on TBV following creatine supplementation, implied that the doses of creatine given did not have a significant influence on muscle metabolism in the horses.

Conclusions

• The study concluded that the dosage of creatine supplementation administered in this experiment did not significantly affect the muscle metabolic response during intense exercise in Standardbred horses.
• This leads to further questions around the effective dosage or usage methods of creatine to enhance equine performance, potentially indicating that further research in this area is needed.