Effects of dietary creatine supplementation for 8 weeks on neuromuscular coordination and learning in male albino mouse following neonatal hypoxic ischemic insult.

Creatine monohydrate (Cr) is a dietary supplement known to improve cognitive functions and has positive therapeutic results under various clinical conditions. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of 2 % Cr supplementation on learning, memory formation, neuromuscular coordination, exploratory and locomotory in male albino mice following hypoxic ischemic insult. At postnatal day, 10 male albino mice pups were subjected to right common carotid artery ligation followed by 8 % hypoxia for 25 min. On postnatal day 20, male mice were separated from the litter and divided into two groups on the basis of special diet supplementation. One group was supplemented with 2 % Cr in diet while the other group was raised on ordinary rodent chow for 8 weeks. Behavioral observations were made during rota rod, open field and Morris water maze test for both treatments. It was observed that supplementation with 2 % Cr for 8 weeks following neonatal brain damage resulted in enhanced muscular strength, neuromuscular coordination and improved body weight. In Morris water maze test, it was observed that Cr supplementation significantly improved mean swimming speed and mice on 2 % Cr diet covered more distance but the spatial memory was not improved significantly following hypoxia ischemia encephalopathy (HIE). Open field parameters and percentage of infarct volume remained unaffected following Cr supplementation. We concluded that 2 % dietary Cr supplementation has a potential to improve the muscle strength and body weight in male albino mice following (HIE) and should be considered for the treatment of neurological ailments.