What is "creatine"

1834, from French creatine, from Greek kreas "flesh, meat" (see raw) + chemical suffix -ine (2). Organic base discovered by French physicist Michel-Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889) in the juice of flesh and named by him.

n. (context biochemistry English) An amino acid ''2-(carbamimidoyl-methyl- amino)acetic acid'' which naturally occurs in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to muscle and nerve cells

n. an amino acid that does not occur in proteins but is found in the muscle tissue of vertebrates both in the free form and as phosphocreatine; supplies energy for muscle contraction [syn: creatin]

Creatine ( or ) is a nitrogenous organic acid that occurs naturally in vertebrates and helps to supply energy to all cells in the body, primarily muscle. This is achieved by increasing the formation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Creatine was identified in 1832 when Michel Eugène Chevreul isolated it from the basified water-extract of skeletal muscle. He later named the crystallized precipitate after the Greek word for meat, κρέας (kreas). Early analysis showed that human blood is approximately 1% creatine, and the highest concentrations are found in animal blood, brain (0.14%), muscle (0.50%), and testes (0.18%). The liver and kidney contain approximately 0.01% creatine. Today, creatine content (as a percentage of crude protein) can be used as an indicator of meat quality.

In solution, creatine is in equilibrium with creatinine.

Creatine is a derivative of the guanidinium cation.