Creatine !

Creatine is a small nitrogen compound that muscle and brain use as a quick energy reserve, stored as phosphocreatine.

Updated 2026-11-01

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Key facts

Made from arginine, glycine and the methyl group of SAM (kidney then liver); also eaten in meat and fish.
In muscle, creatine kinase turns it into phosphocreatine, a high-energy phosphate that rebuilds ATP in seconds.
Its daily breakdown product is creatinine, excreted in urine.
It enters cells through the sodium- and chloride-dependent creatine transporter (SLC6A8).

A guanidino group joined to N-methylglycine (sarcosine); phosphorylation occurs on a guanidino nitrogen.

Creatine supplements raise muscle phosphocreatine and can slightly raise serum creatinine without kidney damage.
Creatine is the treatment of GAMT and AGAT deficiency; it does not reach the brain well in transporter deficiency.

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

Which enzyme turns creatine into phosphocreatine?

Creatine kinase, using ATP.

Which compound gives creatine its methyl group?

S-adenosylmethionine (SAM), in the GAMT reaction in the liver.

Why can creatine supplements change a kidney test?

Some creatine becomes creatinine, so serum creatinine may rise slightly without any fall in GFR.

Molecules are shown in their neutral form, as the databases deposit them; in the cell the acids and phosphates are ionised.

Educational information, not medical advice. For any symptom, see a health professional.

Sources: Creatine (CID 586) (PubChem, NCBI, 2026); Guanidinoacetate methyltransferase deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (MedlinePlus, US National Library of Medicine, 2026); Textbook of Biochemistry for Medical Students, 6th ed. (Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (Vasudevan DM, Sreekumari S, Vaidyanathan K), 2011).

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Representative model, for educational purposes only.