Associated Conditions
Lactic acidosis is an underlying process of rigor mortis. Tissue in the muscles of the deceased carry out anaerobic metabolism in the absence of oxygen, using muscle glycogen as the energy source, and significant amounts of lactic acid are released into the muscle tissue. With depletion of muscle glycogen, the loss of ATP causes the muscles to grow stiff, as the actin-myosin bonds cannot be released. (Rigor is later resolved by enzymatic breakdown of the myofibers.) In meat-producing animals, the post-mortem pH drop in muscle tissue contributes to meat quality (by influencing water retention, cutting color and texture of meat) and also contributes to food safety by inhibiting several acid-intolerant spoilage organisms that otherwise might proliferate, even at refrigerator temperature.
Lactic acidosis may also result from vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency.
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