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.LACTIC ACID STEREO ISOMERS