A French scientist discovered creatine in 1835. Creatine is a natural constituent of meat, mainly found in red meat. Creatine is manufactured naturally in the body from the amino acids glycine, arginine, and methionine. This process takes place in the kidneys, liver, and pancreas.

Approximately 40% of the body's creatine stores are free creatine (Cr), while the remaining 60% is stored in form of creatine phosphate (CP). The typical male adult processes 2 grams of creatine per day, and replaces that amount through dietary intake and fabrication within the body.

Creatine is used for the resynthesis of ATP. ATP, or adenosine triphosphate, is the "power" that drives muscular energetics. When a muscle is required to contract, the bonds in the ATP molecule are split, yielding ADP (adenosine-diphosphate). The energy released by breaking this bond powers the contraction of the muscle.

When ATP is depleted within the cell, the cell can no longer contract. There are several methods by which the body rebuilds ATP. The fastest method, without oxygen, is through CP. Creatine phosphate is "split" to yield the phosphate portion of the molecule.

This phosphate portion bonds to the ADP, turning it back to ATP. Once CP stores within the cell are depleted, the body must use other methods to replenish ATP.

Supplementation with creatine increases Cr and CP within the muscle, allowing further capacity to regenerate ATP. In other words, the creatine enhances the ability of the muscle to maintain power output during brief periods of high-intensity exercise. The periods are brief because the ability of a cell to store CP is limited, therefore the body will quickly move to other methods of replenishing ATP.

The majority of studies regarding creatine supplementation have used creatine monohydrate, the form of creatine bound to a water molecule. Some studies suggest that the combination of creatine and carbohydrate will enhance absorption or "uptake" of creatine. Science shows that creatine is unstable in liquid form, meaning that serum or liquid delivery systems are currently not supported by scientific literature.

The creatine rapidly degrades to creatinine, which is not useable by the body. There is very little support for the notion that creatine in any type of mixture, including an effervescent mixture, is absorbed more efficiently by the body. A company known as Albion Laboratories, Inc. claims to have found an effective delivery mechanism by chelating creatine to magnesium (a chelate is an organic compound that is typically absorbed more readily by the body than individual elements).