Creatine is best known as a workout supplement that helps muscles recover faster and perform harder. But a new systematic review published June 30, 2026, has examined whether its role in brain energy metabolism might also make it a useful addition to depression treatment, with mixed but potentially meaningful results.
The review, published in the journal Brain Medicine and announced on ScienceDaily on June 30, examined six published reports from five randomized controlled trials. Together, the trials enrolled 238 participants — 126 who received creatine and 112 who received placebo — across institutions in South Korea, the United States, Brazil, India, and Israel. Four trials focused on people with major depressive disorder; one studied people with bipolar disorder in a depressive episode.
