All articles starting with L
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Lactalis
Lactalis (Groupe Lactalis, formerly Besnier) is a French family-owned dairy multinational founded in 1933 in Laval by André Besnier; the world's largest dairy company, with brands Président, Galbani, and Parmalat, €31.2 billion 2025 revenue, and 85,500 employees in 50 countries.
Lactam
A lactam is a cyclic amide, a compound in which the amide carbonyl and nitrogen lie in a ring, including caprolactam, the monomer of Nylon 6.
Lactantius
Lactantius (Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius, c. 250 – c. 320) was a Latin Christian author, called the "Christian Cicero," who wrote the Divine Institutes and tutored Constantine's son Crispus.
Lactarius deliciosus
Lactarius deliciosus, the saffron milkcap (Agaricus deliciosus basionym), is an orange edible ectomycorrhizal Russulaceae mushroom under pines, with carrot-colored latex turning wine red and green bruising; the name is misapplied in North America.
Lactarius fallax
Lactarius fallax, the velvety milk cap (A.H. Sm. & Hesler, 1962), is a Russulaceae milk-cap fungus with a dark velvety umbo cap and white latex, found in conifer forests from northern California to Alaska; genetics suggest two cryptic species.
Lactarius fuliginosus
Lactarius fuliginosus, the sooty milkcap (Donkere fluweelmelkzwam), is a dark-capped Plinthogalus milkcap with white latex turning pink, ectomycorrhizal with oak and beech, rare and Red-Listed in the Netherlands, and taxonomically confused with L. azonites and L. picinus.
Lactarius indigo
Lactarius indigo, the indigo milk cap or blue milk mushroom, is a blue Russulaceae fungus of oak-pine woods in the Americas and Asia that bleeds indigo latex turning green, is edible, and yielded a synthesized azulene blue food colorant.
Lactarius quietus
Lactarius quietus, the Oak Milkcap (oakbug milkcap, eikeriske, ekriska), is an oak-associated ectomycorrhizal milkcap in Russulaceae with a zoned cinnamon cap, white acrid latex, IUCN Least Concern status, and a 116 Mb genome.
Lactarius torminosus
Lactarius torminosus, the woolly milkcap (lactaire toisonné), is a toxic birch-associated Russulaceae mushroom with a pink zoned cap, woolly margin, and white acrid latex, eaten only after thermal treatment in Russia.
Lactarius turpis
Lactarius turpis (Weinm.) Fr., the Ugly Milkcap, also published as L. necator and L. plumbeus, is a large olive-brown to blackish birch milkcap of the Northern Hemisphere, KOH-purple on the cap, non-edible due to the mutagen necatorin.
Lactase
Lactase (β-galactosidase, EC 3.2.1.23) is the intestinal enzyme that hydrolyzes milk lactose into glucose and galactose; its post-weaning decline causes lactose intolerance, while lactase persistence alleles tied to dairying allow adult milk digestion, and microbial lactase makes lactose-free dairy.
Lactase persistence
Lactase persistence, also called adult lactase retention, is the dominantly inherited trait of continued lactase expression into adulthood, caused by enhancer SNPs in MCM6 intron 13 upstream of LCT, notably -13910C>T, which arose convergently with dairying in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Lactate
Lactate (C₃H₅O₃⁻) is the anion of lactic acid, produced continuously by glycolysis, shuttled between tissues as fuel, and, since 2019, known to induce histone lactylation, an epigenetic gene modification.
Lactate dehydrogenase
L-lactate dehydrogenase (L-LDH, EC 1.1.1.27), also called lactate dehydrogenase A/B/C, is the NAD-dependent tetrameric enzyme interconverting pyruvate and L-lactate; key facts include 14-orders-of-magnitude rate acceleration, five H/M isoenzymes, and use as a nonspecific tissue-damage and cancer biomarker.
Lactate dehydrogenase deficiency
Glycogen storage disease due to lactate dehydrogenase deficiency (GSD XI, LDH deficiency) is a rare autosomal recessive myopathy from LDHA or LDHB mutations; M-subunit disease causes exercise intolerance, myoglobinuria, and rhabdomyolysis, while H-subunit disease is asymptomatic.
Lactate racemase, C-terminal domain
C-terminal domain of lactate racemase (LarA), the substrate-binding half of a nickel-pincer nucleotide racemase; residues 269-430, less conserved than the N-terminal cofactor domain, carries catalytic Lys298 and helices α11/α14 substrate-recognition residues.
Lactate threshold
The lactate threshold, also known as the anaerobic threshold, is the exercise intensity above which blood lactate accumulates, and a key marker of endurance capacity.
Lactating adenoma of breast
Lactating adenoma of breast (pregnancy adenoma, ICD-11 2F30.1) is a benign epithelial breast tumor of late pregnancy and lactation in young primiparous women, presenting as a painless mobile mass that regresses after weaning and rarely coexists with carcinoma.
Lactation
Lactation: milk production by mammalian mammary glands, the defining trait of Mammalia. Covers hormonal control (prolactin, oxytocin), pre-mammalian Triassic origin, species variation, and WHO breastfeeding recommendations.
Lactational amenorrhea
Lactational amenorrhea, or the lactational amenorrhea method (LAM), is breastfeeding-based postpartum contraception requiring amenorrhea, exclusive frequent nursing, and under six months postpartum, giving over 98% effectiveness.
Lácteos de Honduras S.A.
Lácteos de Honduras S.A., known as Lacthosa, is a Honduran dairy and juice processor founded by Schucry Kafie in 1990 and based in San Pedro Sula.
Lacthosa
Lacthosa (Lácteos de Honduras S.A.) is a dairy and juice company based in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, founded by Schucry Kafie in 1992 and owned by the Kafie family's Grupo K.
Lactic acid
Lactic acid (2-hydroxypropanoic acid) is an organic acid produced by bacteria and animal muscle, discovered in sour milk by Scheele in 1780 and used in food, cosmetics, and biodegradable plastics.
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB), including Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, and Streptococcus thermophilus, are Gram-positive, non-respiring cocci or rods fermenting sugars mainly to lactic acid; used as starter cultures, probiotics, and nisin producers, with many species on the EFSA QPS safety list.
Lactic acid fermentation
Lactic acid fermentation: anaerobic conversion of pyruvate to lactate by lactate dehydrogenase, regenerating NAD+ and yielding 2 ATP per glucose. Carried out by lactic acid bacteria in foods, muscle cells, and industry; homolactic versus heterolactic pathways; Pasteur's 1857 discovery.
Lactic acidosis
Lactic acidosis, or hyperlactatemic metabolic acidosis, is high anion gap acidosis from lactate accumulation. Type A (hypoperfusion) versus type B (drugs, metformin, inborn errors); mortality 17.3–88%; bicarbonate evidence mixed.
Lacticaseibacillus
Lacticaseibacillus, formerly the Lactobacillus casei group, is a 2020 genus of gram-positive, homofermentative, rod-shaped lactic acid bacteria including L. casei, L. paracasei, and L. rhamnosus, used as dairy starter cultures and probiotics.
Lacticaseibacillus casei
Lacticaseibacillus casei, formerly Lactobacillus casei, a facultatively heterofermentative lactic acid bacterium; type strain ATCC 393, renamed by Zheng et al. 2020, used in fermented dairy and probiotics such as DN-114001.
Lacticaseibacillus casei Zhang
Lacticaseibacillus casei Zhang (LCZ) is a probiotic lactic acid bacterium strain isolated from koumiss in Inner Mongolia, China, genome sequenced in 2010, studied for gut microbiota effects, and granted FDA no-questions GRAS status (GRN 1204) in 2025.
Lacticaseibacillus paracasei
Lacticaseibacillus paracasei (formerly Lactobacillus paracasei), NCBI Taxonomy 1597, a Gram-positive lactic acid bacterium of the L. casei group found in the human gut and fermented foods, used as a probiotic with strains such as Shirota and F-19.