Open Access

ARTICLE

Creatine supplementation in trained rats causes changes in myenteric neurons and intestinal wall morphometry

by Solange Marta Franzói De MORAES, Thais Andréia BROGIO, Jacqueline Nelisis ZANONi, Mariana Cristina Vicente Umada ZAPATER, Sidney Barnabé PEREs, Luzmarina HERNANDES

Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Avenida Colombo 5790, Bloco H79, sala 108 Maringá, Paraná, Brazil, 87020 900
* Address correspondence to: Luzmarina Hernandes. E-mail: lhernandes@uem.br/luzhernandes@gmail.com

BIOCELL 2013, 37(2), 37-43. https://doi.org/10.32604/biocell.2013.37.037

Abstract

Creatine is widely used by athletes as an ergogenic resource. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of creatine supplementation on the duodenum of rats submitted to physical training. The number and myenteric neuronal cell bodies as well mucosal and muscular tunic morphometry were evaluated. Control animals received a standard chow for 8 weeks, and the treated ones received the standard chow for 4 weeks and were later fed with the same chow but added with 2% creatine. Animals were divided in groups: sedentary, sedentary supplemented with creatine, trained and trained supplemented with creatine. The training consisted in treadmill running for 8 weeks. Duodenal samples were either processed for whole mount preparations or for paraffin embedding and hematoxylin-eosin staining for histological and morphometric studies of the mucosa, the muscular tunic and myenteric neurons. It was observed that neither creatine nor physical training alone promoted alterations in muscular tunic thickness, villus height or crypts depth, however, a reduction in these parameters was observed when both were associated. The number of myenteric neurons was unchanged, but the neuronal cell body area was reduced in trained animals but not when training and creatine was associated, suggesting a neuroprotector role of this substance .

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