Muscle Fermentation: Understanding Lactate Production During Exercise

Fermentation does not typically occur within human skeletal muscle cells.

Glycolysis, which is the first stage of cellular respiration, takes place in the cytoplasm, while the subsequent steps of cellular respiration, including the Krebs cycle and oxidative phosphorylation, occur in the mitochondria.

Under anaerobic conditions, such as during intense exercise when oxygen is limited, muscle cells produce ATP by converting pyruvate, a product of glycolysis, into lactate via fermentation, which doesn't require oxygen.