SHIME® (Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem) is a technologically advanced device allowing the dynamic simulation of processes occurring in the gastrointestinal tract. In the first case, only the processes taking place on a specific, selected, section of the gastrointestinal tract can be analysed without the possibility of taking into account the dynamically changing conditions of the gastrointestinal tract’s lumen environment, which undoubtedly proves the disadvantages of such an analytical solution.
The analysis of digestion and absorption processes of food components and dietary supplements under in-vitro conditions is possible from the technical point of view under static and dynamic conditions.
Currently available on the market are, i.a., malate, citrate, ethyl ester, magnesium creatine chelate, alpha-ketoglutarate, pyruvate, and buffered creatine, characterised by physico-chemical properties different from monohydrates, as well as pharmacokinetics itself (Gufford et al., 2013), (Jäger, Harris, Purpura, & Francaux, 2007). This has become a direct reason for the search for more-stable, and thus more-effective, forms of creatine. Depending on the form used, varying instability of creatine in gastrointestinal tract conditions can at the same time lead to the absence of noticeable effects of creatine supplementation for some of its chemical forms, with the recommended daily supply. Reducing the actual bioavailability of creatine from its various chemical forms in the human gastrointestinal tract, resulting from its conversion to, inter alia, creatine, can result in a not-unfounded belief that the amount of product intake should be increased in order to ensure an actual, effective, supply of that product. One of the metabolites of creatine produced during degradation is its cyclic form - creatinine, which is not biologically active.
According to the current state of knowledge, the stomach environment (low pH, presence of digestive enzymes), as well as the digestive environment of the duodenum, are able to degrade up to several percent of consumed creatine (Purchas, Busboom, & Wilkinson, 2006), reducing its final bioavailability, as well as the expected physiological effect. The stability and bioavailability of creatine in the gastrointestinal tractĬreatine monohydrate remains the most-popular form of creatine available on the market which acts anabolically within muscle tissue Many studies have verified the pharmacokinetics and stability of this compound in different environments (MacNeil et al., 2005)(McCall & Persky, 2007)(Ganguly, Jayappa, & Dash, 2003).z o.o., Research-and-Development Centre Pustynia 84F, 39-200 Dębica,