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What is lactic acid?
Production of lactic acid and lactates
Lactic acid - A Natural Product
Lactic acid in the human body
Lactate and exercise
History of Lactic Acid

What is lactic acid?
Lactic acid is a natural organic acid with a long history in the food, leather, wool-dyeing and cosmetics industries. Long before it became commercially available, lactic acid was formed by natural fermentation in products such as cheese, yogurt, soy sauce, sourdough, meat products, pickled vegetables, beer and wine. Animal and human bodies also produce significant amounts of L(+)-lactic acid during daily activities such as walking and running. Today, lactic acid, its salts and esters are extensively used in food, industrial, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Production of lactic acid and lactates
PURAC's aim is to improve its customers' products using advanced biotechnology. Production is based on renewable resources - an example of PURAC's concern for the environment. This applies to both lactic acid and lactic-acid-derived products.

 

 

Lactic acid - A Natural Product
Unlike the name suggests, lactic acid is not derived from milk. Lactic acid is the acid ingredient of sour dairy products, fermented fruits and vegetables and sausages. Lactic acid has been consumed by humans since prehistoric times.

Lactic acid as a product of nature, however, is even older. It is present in every form of organized life and was supposedly already prevalent in the first forms of primitive life that existed on earth. Many bacterial species produce lactic acid, with Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Streptococcus, Pediococcus and Leuconostoc being the predominant examples.

Lactic acid found in animals and humans has many functions, the most important of which is related to the supply of energy in muscle tissue. Metabolic turnover of lactic acid in adult men has been estimated to be approximately 120 to 150 g per day. 

Lactic acid in the human body
Lactic acid is naturally present in humans, as well as in animals. It is well known that it is formed from glycogen by muscle cells when the oxygen supply is inadequate to support energy production.

There are many misconceptions about Lactic Acid and Lactate in the body. Lactate was long considered one of the causes of both fatigue during exercise and the stiffness felt after. However, on the contrary, lactate is actually an important fuel used by the muscles during prolonged exercise, since lactate produced in one muscle can be oxidized in another muscle. So, rather than causing fatigue, lactic acid and lactate help delay the onset of fatigue and improve sport performance.

Lactate and exercise
Lactate has often been considered one of the major causes of both fatigue during exercise and post-exercise muscle soreness. However, lactate may have little effect on either. Moreover, it may help to improve performance.

Accumulation of lactic acid (generated form the anaerobic breakdown of glycogen), in the muscle, occurs only during short bouts of exercise of relatively high intensity and it is usually related to fatigue and muscle soreness. However, because lactate is so rapidly removed from muscle and blood after exercise, it is highly unlikely that lactate is the cause of any resulting muscle soreness. It may be that the accumulation of H+ ions during glycolisis contributes to fatigue during short-term maxim exercise. Oral lactate may postpone fatigue, by increasing buffer capacity of the body and reducing acidosis, in turn delaying fatigue.

On the other hand, it is believed that during endurance-type exercise, the depletion of muscle glycogen causes fatigue. In such conditions, lactate may serve as an energy source. It has been observed that the lactate produced in one muscle can be oxidized within another muscle. Due to its insulin independence, lactate could prove to be a more readily available energy substrate.

Better performance is often related to lactate clearance from the blood. The increase in blood lactate levels during exercise is reduced by acclimatization. Therefore training and lactate supplementation may help to increase lactate clearance and subsequently improve performance.

History of Lactic Acid
Lactic acid was discovered in 1780 by Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, who isolated the lactic acid from sour milk as an impure brown syrup and gave it a name based on its origins: 'Mjölksyra'. The French scientist Frémy produced lactic acid by fermentation and this gave rise to industrial production in 1881.Lactic acid is produced by the fermentation of sugar and water or by chemical process and is commercially usually sold as a liquid.

Pure and anhydrous racemic lactic acid is a white crystalline solid with a low melting point. Lactic acid has two optical forms, L(+) and D(-) . L(+)-lactic acid is the biological isomer as it is naturally present in the human body.

For more information on Lactic Acid visit lactic-acid.com.