D-Lactic Acid as a Metabolite: Toxicology, Diagnosis, and Detection

Abstract EN

Two enantiomers of lactic acid exist.

While L-lactic acid is a common compound of human metabolism, D-lactic acid is produced by some strains of microorganism or by some less relevant metabolic pathways.

While L-lactic acid is an endogenous compound, D-lactic acid is a harmful enantiomer.

Exposure to D-lactic acid can happen by various ways including contaminated food and beverages and by microbiota during some pathological states like short bowel syndrome.

The exposure to D-lactic acid cannot be diagnosed because the common analytical methods are not suitable for distinguishing between the two enantiomers.

In this review, pathways for D-lactic acid, pathological processes, and diagnostical and analytical methods are introduced followed by figures and tables.

The current literature is summarized and discussed.