Creatine May Shield Brain From Gut Inflammation in Rat Study
Researchers found that daily creatine supplementation prevented hippocampal inflammation and neuronal damage in rats with chronic colitis, though the findings are limited to animal models.
15 Oct 2026 0 reads Compiled with AI
#Creatine #Rats #Gut Inflammation #Hippocampus #Chronic Colitis #Brain
Creatine, a supplement most familiar to athletes, has been shown in a new rat study to protect the hippocampus—the brain region linked to memory—from inflammation triggered by gut disease.
The Spanish research team, led by neurophysiologists Alejandro Ruiz‑Calero and María Ortego‑Domínguez, reported that oral creatine restored brain creatine levels, preserved neuron structure and normalised electrical activity in rats with experimentally induced colitis.
In the experiment, young male and female rats were given water containing 1 gram of creatine per kilogram of body weight starting ten days before colitis was induced with dextran sulfate sodium and continuing throughout the study. After more than a month, brain samples were analysed for inflammatory markers, neuron health and electrical properties.
The results revealed that colitis caused a sharp drop in hippocampal creatine and activated microglia in both sexes, but only male rats showed significant neuronal damage and altered electrical resistance. Creatine supplementation largely prevented these changes in both males and females, with a stronger effect in males where the damage was most severe.
Although the data are encouraging, the researchers caution that the study was performed in animals under controlled conditions and that the findings may not translate directly to humans with inflammatory bowel disease.
The authors suggest further studies are needed to explore whether creatine could serve as a complementary strategy for people suffering from chronic gut inflammation, noting that the compound appears to act selectively on disease‑related changes rather than boosting healthy brain function.