Phenyllactic Acid: A Potential Antimicrobial Compound in Lactic acid Bacteria

3-Phenyllactic acid (PhLA) is a broad spectrum antimicrobial compound active against bacteria and fungi. PhLA exists in two chiral isomers, L-PhLA and D-PhLA which show antimicrobial activity. D-PhLA shows more antimicrobial activity than L-PhLA and hence it is receiving great attention as food and feed additive in place antibiotics which control the microbial contamination and thereby increase the shelf life of food and food ingredients. This review summarizes the recent developments on the resources, detection and analysis and antimicrobial activity of PhLA. In addition, the article presents the recent studies of the key enzymes such as lactate dehydrogenases and pyruvate reductases involved in PhLA synthesis. The metabolic pathway and regulation of PLA synthesis in lactic acid bacteria (LAB) along with its high level production are also discussed.