Saddleback Journal of Biology - Saddleback College

Fall 2009 Biology 3B Paper
The Effects of Creatine Monohydrate on White Mice (Mus musculus)
Sean Parsa and Heeva Ghane
Department of Biological Science
Saddleback College
Mission Viejo, CA 92692
Creatine is a protein in the form of glycine and arginine. Glycine promotes muscle
building and strength gain by slowing the process of muscle tissue breakdown. Arginine
increases the body’s ability to produce lean muscle mass. The purpose of this study was to
see what effects creatine monohydrate would have on the mass of white mice (Mus
musculus). Researchers hypothesized that creatine monohydrate will increase the mass of
M. musculus. Ten white mice were bought from Wild Animals Supply in Laguna Niguel
California and were separated into two groups of five. In the control group, the mice were
fed a regular diet of Kellogg’s® cereal and the experimental group was fed dusted creatine
monohydrate Kellogg’s® cereal. After two weeks, the control increased in weight to 0.01 ±
0.01g (±SEM, n= 5) and the experimental group increased in weight to 0.36 ± 0.09g (±SEM,
n=5). These results indicated that the data obtained did support the researchers’
hypothesis.
Introduction
Creatine monohydrate has been thoroughly
investigated in mammals and was proved to be a
valid performance, body weight, and water volume
enhancer. A research done by Ziegenfuss (1998)
tested the acute fluid volume in ten men during three
days of creatine supplementation. They were to
ingest 0.07 g · kg FFM -1 of creatine monohydrate
dissolved in 500 milliliters (mL) of grape drink every
three hours with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two
snacks. This amount of creatine was approximately
10-20 times that was found in a normal diet. Strict
dietary control was observed because changes in
nutrition and hydration status could confound
estimated fluid volumes. Specifically, during sessions
one, two, and three, subjects completed detailed
dietary records of all ingested foods. The subjects
increased in water volume, but each subject had a
different effect on the creatine; which was based on
their age, weight, and how often they exercised.
Another research done by Vangenberghe (1997) was
testing whether creatine supplementation may add to
the effects of resistance training on muscle strength
and the capacity to perform high intensity exercise
and also to evaluate the effects of long-term creatine
supplementation on body composition. He tested this
experiment on nineteen women for ten weeks. The
experimental group was given five grams (g) of
creatine (2.5 g tablets) four times a day. The control
group received placebo supplements (5 g of
maltodextrine tablets) four times a day. During the
ten weeks, the subjects were to perform variable
resistance training for one hour three times per week.
The training involved seven different exercises:
including leg press, bench press, leg curl, leg
extension, squat, shoulder press, and sit-ups. In the
results, creatine increased maximal strength by 20%
to 25 %, maximal intermittent exercise capacity by
10% to 25%, and fat free mass by 60%. Since the
intake of creatine increases the amount of energy
produced, the tolerance for a longer exercise time
would increase. Creatine exerts its effect on
metabolism by serving as a precursor to the
formation of ATP (Pearlman and Fielding, 2006).
When there is an increase in the amount of creatine
present, more ATP will be produced to perform more
work (Brink 2005). Since creatine restores ATP to a
state where it can act as a fuel for the muscle, it will
enhance muscle growth. Based upon studies done on
humans, the results may be the same on M. musculus,
since both species are mammals.
Materials and Methods
Ten M. musculus were bought on October
23, 2009 at Wild Animals Supply in Laguna Niguel,
California. Each mouse was specifically marked
using a Sharpie® and placed into a separate container
to indicate the experimental group and the controlled
group. For 14 days each mouse was fed five grams
of Kelloggs® Corn flakes cereal every other day. The
first 4 days, the mice were to adjust to their new diet.
The experimental group was fed cereal that had been
coated with creatine monohydrate. The cereal was
dusted with creatine by spray misting the cereal with
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Saddleback Journal of Biology
Spring 2010