Definition and Areas of Use :
Lactic acid is a natural compound that occurs in every human body and can be found in muscles, blood and various organs of the body. This acid can be used in the same sense as lactate. Lactate can be defined as the sodium and potassium salt of lactic acid.
The chemical name of this compound, which is an organic hydroxy acid discovered by Wilhelm Scheele in 1780, is hydroxypropanoic acid. Since this substance was obtained commercially from soured milk in large quantities in 1881, this substance is also called milk acid. We can see that the lactose in milk is converted into lactic acid by bacteria called lactic yeast.
This compound, whose main source is called glycogen, is a by-product formed as a result of the breakdown of carbohydrates called glycogen. In addition, when pyruvate is produced as a result of anaerobic glucose, it is seen that the muscle cell tries to add lactic acid to energy production aerobically. If the muscle cell does not have the capacity to use all the pyruvate produced, pyruvate is converted to lactate.