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Fermentation (biochemistry)

 
Fermentation (biochemistry)

 
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Fermentation (biochemistry)
 
 
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Fermentation is the process of deriving energy from the oxidation
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. This is in contrast to cellular respiration
Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolism reactions and processes that take place in organisms' cell s to convert Energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products....
, where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen, via an electron transport chain.






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Fermenting
Fermentation is the process of deriving energy from the oxidation
Redox

Redox describes all chemical reactions in which atoms have their oxidation number changed.This can be either a simple redox process such as the oxidation of carbon to yield carbon dioxide or the reduction of carbon by hydrogen to yield methane , or it can be a complex process such as the oxidation of sugar in the human body through a ser...
 of organic compounds, such as carbohydrates, using an endogenous electron acceptor, which is usually an organic compound. This is in contrast to cellular respiration
Cellular respiration

Cellular respiration is the set of the metabolism reactions and processes that take place in organisms' cell s to convert Energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate , and then release waste products....
, where electrons are donated to an exogenous electron acceptor, such as oxygen, via an electron transport chain. Fermentation does not necessarily have to be carried out in an anaerobic environment, however. For example, even in the presence of abundant oxygen, yeast
Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
 cells greatly prefer fermentation to oxidative phosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation

Oxidative phosphorylation is a metabolic pathway that uses energy released by the redox of nutrients to produce adenosine triphosphate . Although the many forms of life on earth use a range of different nutrients, almost all carry out oxidative phosphorylation to produce ATP, the molecule that supplies energy to metabolism....
, as long as sugars are readily available for consumption.

Sugars are the most common substrate
Substrate (biochemistry)

In biochemistry, a substrate is a molecule upon which an enzyme acts. Enzymes catalysis chemical reactions involving the substrate. The substrate binds with the enzyme active site, and an enzyme-substrate complex is formed....
 of fermentation, and typical examples of fermentation products are ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
, lactic acid
Lactic acid

Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
, and hydrogen
Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the chemical symbol H. At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a colorless, odorless, nonmetallic, tasteless, highly combustion and explosive Diatomic molecule gas with the molecular formula H2....
. However, more exotic compounds can be produced by fermentation, such as butyric acid
Butyric acid

Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula carbonhydrogen3CH2CH2-carboxyl group....
 and acetone
Acetone

Acetone is the organic compound with the chemical formula OC2. This colorless, mobile, flammable liquid is the simplest example of the ketones....
. Yeast
Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
 carries out fermentation
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
 in the production of ethanol
Ethanol

Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, pure alcohol, grain alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a volatility , flammable, colorless liquid....
 in beer
Beer

Beer is the world's oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic beverage and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and Fermentation of starches, mainly derived from cereal?the most common of which is malted barley, although wheat, maize , and rice are widely used....
s, wine
Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
s and other alcoholic drinks, along with the production of large quantities of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalent bond to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state....
. Fermentation occurs in mammal
Mammal

Mammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose name is derived from their distinctive feature, mammary glands, with which they feed their young....
ian muscle
MUSCLE

MUSCLE is public domain, multiple sequence alignment software for protein and nucleotide sequences.MUSCLE is integrated into UGENE bioinformatics tool as a plugin....
 during periods of intense exercise where oxygen supply becomes limited, resulting in the creation of lactic acid
Lactic acid

Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
.

Energy source in anaerobic conditions

Fermentation products contain chemical energy (they are not fully oxidized) but are considered waste products, since they cannot be metabolized further without the use of oxygen (or other more highly-oxidized electron acceptors). A consequence is that the production of adenosine triphosphate
Adenosine triphosphate

This article is about the chemical used by cells as an energy carrier. For other uses, see ATP .Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleotide, and plays an important role in cell biology as a coenzyme that is the "molecule unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer....
 (ATP) by fermentation is less efficient than oxidative phosphorylation, whereby pyruvate is fully oxidized to carbon dioxide.

  • Ethanol fermentation
    Ethanol fermentation

    Ethanol fermentation is the biological process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products....
     (performed by yeast
    Yeast

    Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
     and some types of bacteria) breaks the pyruvate down into ethanol and carbon dioxide. It is important in bread
    Bread

    Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
    -making, brewing
    Brewing

    Brewing is the production of alcoholic beverages and alcohol fuel through fermentation . The term is used for the production of beer, although the word "brewing" is also used to describe the fermentation process used to create wine and mead....
    , and wine
    Wine

    Wine is an alcoholic beverage often made of fermentation grape juice. The natural chemical balance of grapes is such that they can ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes or other nutrients....
    -making. Usually only one of the products is desired; in bread-making, the alcohol is baked out, and, in alcohol production, the carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere or used for carbonating the beverage. When the ferment has a high concentration of pectin
    Pectin

    Pectin is a structural heteropolysaccharide contained in the primary cell walls of terrestrial plants. It was first isolated and described in 1825 by Henri Braconnot....
    , minute quantities of methanol
    Methanol

    Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical compound with chemical formula carbonhydrogen3oxygenhydrogen ....
     can be produced.
  • Lactic acid fermentation
    Lactic acid fermentation

    Lactic acid fermentation is a biological process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose, are converted into cellular energy and the metabolic product fermental acid....
     breaks down the pyruvate into lactic acid
    Lactic acid

    Lactic acid , also known as milk acid, is a chemical compound that plays a role in several biochemistry processes. It was first isolated in 1780 by a Swedish chemist, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, and is a carboxylic acid with a chemical formula of C3H6O3....
    . It occurs in the muscles of animals when they need energy faster than the blood
    Blood

    Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
     can supply oxygen. It also occurs in some bacteria and some fungi. It is this type of bacteria that converts lactose
    Lactose

    Lactose is a sugar that is found most notably in milk. Lactose makes up around 2?8% of milk . The name comes from the Latin word for milk, plus the -ose ending used to name sugars....
     into lactic acid in yogurt, giving it its sour taste. These lactic acid bacteria can be classed as homofermentative, where the end product is mostly lactate, or heterofermentative, where some lactate is further metabolized and results in carbon dioxide, acetate or other metabolic products.
  • Hydrogen gas is produced in many types of fermentation (mixed acid fermentation
    Mixed acid fermentation

    Mixed acid fermentation is an anaerobic fermentation where the products are three acids as well as ethanol and equal amounts of H2 and CO2....
    , butyric acid
    Butyric acid

    Butyric acid , also known under the systematic name butanoic acid, is a carboxylic acid with the structural formula carbonhydrogen3CH2CH2-carboxyl group....
     fermentation, caproate fermentation, butanol
    Butanol

    Butanol or butyl alcohol , is a primary alcohol with a 4 carbon structure and the molecular formula of Carbon4Hydrogen9Oxygen....
     fermentation, glyoxylate fermentation), as a way to regenerate NAD+from NADH. Electrons are transferred to ferredoxin, which in turn is oxidized by hydrogenase, producing H2. Hydrogen gas is a substrate for methanogens and sulfate reducers, which keep the concentration of hydrogen sufficiently low to allow the production of such an energy-rich compound.


History

French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
 chemist Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was a France chemist and microbiologist best known for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and prevention of disease. His experiments supported the germ theory of disease, also reducing mortality from puerperal fever , and he created the first vaccine for rabies....
 was the first zymologist
Zymurgy

Zymurgy or zymology is the study of Fermentation . The word was originally used to describe the science involved in these processes but it has since become more broadly used to describe the brewing of alcoholic beverages....
, when, in 1857, he connected yeast to fermentation. Pasteur originally defined fermentation as respiration without air.

Pasteur performed careful research and concluded, "I am of the opinion that alcoholic fermentation never occurs without simultaneous organization, development and multiplication of cells.... If asked, in what consists the chemical act whereby the sugar is decomposed ... I am completely ignorant of it."

German chemist and zymologist
Zymurgy

Zymurgy or zymology is the study of Fermentation . The word was originally used to describe the science involved in these processes but it has since become more broadly used to describe the brewing of alcoholic beverages....
, Eduard Buchner
Eduard Buchner

Eduard Buchner was a Germany chemistry and Zymurgy, the winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on fermentation ....
, winner of the 1907 Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize , established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Nobel Prize in Literature, and Nobel Peace Prize in 1901....
 in chemistry, later determined that fermentation is actually caused by a yeast secretion that he termed zymase
Zymase

Zymase is an enzyme complex that catalyzes glycolysis, the fermentation of sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. As the conversion takes place, the reaction will gradually slow down....
.

See also

  • Dark fermentation
    Dark fermentation

    Dark fermentation is the Fermentation conversion of organic substrate to biohydrogen, it is a complex process manifested by diverse group of bacteria by a series of biochemical reactions involving three steps similar to Anaerobic digestion....
  • Fermentation (wine)
    Fermentation (wine)

    The process of Fermentation in wine is the catalyst function that turns grape juice into an alcoholic beverage. During fermentation yeast interact with sugars in the juice to create ethanol, commonly known as ethyl alcohol, and carbon dioxide ....
  • Fermentation (food)
    Fermentation (food)

    Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
  • Fermentative hydrogen production
    Fermentative hydrogen production

    Fermentative hydrogen production is the Fermentation conversion of organic substrate to biohydrogen manifested by a diverse group bacteria using multi enzyme systems involving three steps similar to Anaerobic digestion....
  • Industrial fermentation
    Industrial fermentation

    Fermentation has many important uses in industry. Though the word fermentation can have stricter definitions, when speaking of it in industrial fermentation it more loosely refers to the breakdown of organic substances and re-assembly into other substances....
  • Fermentation lock
    Fermentation lock

    The fermentation lock or airlock is a device used in beer brewing and wine making that allows carbon dioxide released by the beer to escape the fermenter, while not allowing air to enter the fermenter, thus avoiding oxidation....
  • Fed-batch
    Fed-batch

    A 'fed-batch' is a biotechnological batch process which is based on feeding of a growth limiting nutrient substrate to a culture.The fed-batch strategy is typically used in bio-industrial processes to reach a high cell density in the bioreactor....
  • Chemostat
    Chemostat

    A chemostat is a bioreactor to which fresh medium is continuously added, while culture liquid is continuously removed to keep the culture volume constant....
  • Ethanol fermentation
    Ethanol fermentation

    Ethanol fermentation is the biological process by which sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose are converted into cellular energy and thereby producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic waste products....
  • Photofermentation
    Photofermentation

    Photofermentation is the Fermentation conversion of organic substrate to biohydrogen manifested by a diverse group of photosynthesis bacteria by a series of biochemical reactions involving three steps similar to Anaerobic digestion....


External links