Dietary Creatine Supplementation Does Not Alter Trabecular Bone Morphology in Male and Female Rats

Abstract

BackgroundSupplementation with dietary creatine has been reported to improve markers of bone structure in animals and humans. Trabecular bone is one of two types of bone responsible for strength and structural support in the body. It serves to support areas that experience mechanical stress. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of varying doses of dietary creatine on the trabecular bone morphology of male and female rats.Methods32 Sprague‐Dawley rats (16 male, 16 female) were randomized into one of four groups: 0g/L, 2.5g/L, 5g/L, or 10g/L of creatine monohydrate (CM) in drinking water with 1% sucrose (for palatability). Dietary interventions began at 12 weeks and lasted for 8 weeks. Ex vivo scanning and analysis was conducted on the proximal region of left femurs using micro‐computed tomography (mCT). Standard measures of trabecular bone morphology were measured at the proximal femur: trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), trabecular number (Tb.N), percent bone volume (BV/TV), connectivity (Conn) and connectivity density (Conn.Dn).ResultsThere were no significant differences in Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, Tb.N, BV/TV, Conn, or Conn.Dn between creatine dose groups for males or females. Males had greater Tb.Th than females (p<0.01). Greater Tb.Sp was also observed in males as compared to females (p<0.01). Females demonstrated significantly higher BV/TV (p<0.01) as well as a greater Tb.N (p<0.01) than males. Conn was significantly different between sexes (p<0.05) with a higher value in females compared to males. Conn.Dn was also significantly higher in females (p<0.01) compared to males.ConclusionsEight weeks of different dietary intakes of creatine does not appear to have an effect on proximal femur Tb.Th, Tb.Sp, Tb.N, BV/TV, Conn, or Conn.Dn. However, differences in sex were observed for each dependent variable which is suggestive of a difference in the trabecular structure between males and females.Support or Funding InformationSupported by NSERC (Canada).