Lactate Level in Amniotic Fluid, a New Diagnostic Tool

If exhaustion or muscle fatigue is discussed in a general conversation, usually people will refer lactate accumulation as a primary cause. Lactate accumulates in blood and tissues during exercise, particularly when oxygen is lacking. The concentration is highest at or just following exhaustion. Lactate has historically been considered as a dead-end waste product of anaerobic metabolism due to hypoxia and the primary cause of fatigue (Berzelius 1808; Araki 1891; Hartree & Hill 1921; Hill 1922). Lactate has also been considered as a key factor in acidosis-induced tissue damage; however the role of lactate in metabolism has changed during the last decade (Brooks 1986; Brooks 2002; Brooks 2002) Lactate is no longer considered as a harmful end-product, but mainly one of the central players in cellular and whole body metabolism.