Ribeiro Felipe, Forbes Scott C, Candow Darren G, Perim Pedro, Lira Fabio Santos, Lancha Antonio Herbert, Rosa Neto José C
Laboratory of Immunometabolism, Department of Cell Biology and Developmental, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
Department of Physical Education Studies, Faculty of Education, Brandon University, Brandon, MB, Canada.
Front Nutr. 2025 Jul 23;12:1579204. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1579204. eCollection 2025.
The brain and skeletal muscle have a high energy demand, of which creatine is an important regulator. Creatine acts as both a spatial and temporal energy buffer and reduces oxidative stress and inflammation. Creatine supplementation is well-recognized to enhance exercise performance, muscular strength and lean tissue mass, with emerging research showing benefits on cognitive function. Herein, we discuss the potential muscle-brain axis and the purported benefits of creatine supplementation on myokines, with a focus on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Myokines and the muscle-brain axis have been implicated in strength, endurance, neuroprotection, and cognitive performance, particularly in aging and clinical conditions. Creatine is a pleiotropic molecule and the mechanisms are multifactorial, however, they appear to be associated with improved bioenergetics, muscle hypertrophy, anti-inflammatory effects and on improved glucose metabolism. Despite the growing body of research on creatine, limitations such as variability in study designs, dosages, and individual responses need to be carefully interpreted. Further research is warranted to verify this hypothesis and to establish optimal supplementation protocols, particularly, in terms of its short-term and long-term implications for neuromuscular and cognitive performance.
大脑和骨骼肌对能量的需求很高，其中肌酸是一种重要的调节因子。肌酸既作为空间和时间上的能量缓冲物质，又能减轻氧化应激和炎症。补充肌酸已被广泛认可可提高运动表现、肌肉力量和瘦体重，新出现的研究表明其对认知功能也有益处。在此，我们讨论潜在的肌肉-脑轴以及补充肌酸对肌动蛋白的所谓益处，重点关注脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）。肌动蛋白和肌肉-脑轴与力量、耐力、神经保护和认知表现有关，尤其是在衰老和临床情况下。肌酸是一种具有多种效应的分子，其作用机制是多因素的，然而，它们似乎与改善生物能量学、肌肉肥大、抗炎作用以及改善葡萄糖代谢有关。尽管关于肌酸的研究越来越多，但研究设计、剂量和个体反应的变异性等局限性需要仔细解读。有必要进行进一步研究以验证这一假设并建立最佳补充方案，特别是在其对神经肌肉和认知表现的短期和长期影响方面。
