lactic acid
a colorless or yellowish, syrupy, water-soluble liquid, C3H6O3, produced during muscle contraction as a product of anaerobic glucose metabolism, abundant in sour milk, prepared usually by fermentation of cornstarch, molasses, potatoes, etc., or synthesized: used chiefly in dyeing and textile printing, as a flavoring agent in food, and in medicine.
Origin of lactic acid
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How to use lactic acid in a sentence
Cheese makers also often add cultures or lactic acid to their milk to keep it from spoiling during fermentation.
The presence of phenol causes a deep amethyst-blue color, as in Uffelmann's test for lactic acid.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddIts disadvantage is that it introduces, with the bread, a variable amount of lactic acid and numerous yeast-cells.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThe presence of lactic acid is the most suggestive single symptom of gastric cancer.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddThese same lactic acid bacteria may be useful when they sour the milk for the cheese maker.
A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
An uncrystallisable salt prepared by saturating ammonia, or its carbonate, with lactic acid.
British Dictionary definitions for lactic acid
a colourless syrupy carboxylic acid found in sour milk and many fruits and used as a preservative (E270) for foodstuffs, such as soft margarine, and for making pharmaceuticals and adhesives. Formula: CH 3 CH(OH)COOH: Systematic name: 2-hydroxypropanoic acid
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for lactic acid
[ lăk′tĭk ]
A syrupy, water-soluble organic acid produced when milk sours or certain fruits ferment. It is also produced in the body during the anaerobic metabolism of glucose, as in muscle tissue during exercise, where its buildup can cause cramping pains. A synthetic form of lactic acid is used as a flavoring and preservative, in dyeing and textile printing, and in pharmaceuticals. Chemical formula: C3H6O3.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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