Question

Give examples of beverages and chemicals obtained by microbial fermentation of different organic substances.

Answer 1

Hint: Fermentation occurs in anaerobic conditions. It is of two types and they are named based on the end products formed after fermentation.

Complete answer:
Fermentation is widely used for the production of a wide variety of beverages and chemicals.
Few examples of beverages produced from alcoholic fermentation are:
- Microbes like yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae are used in the production of beverages like wine, beer, and rum by fermenting fruits.
- Toddy is a traditional beverage of southern India made by fermentation of sap from palms.
- Kombucha is a beverage made by fermentation of tea.
- Sake is a Japanese drink made by fermentation of rice.

Few examples of chemicals produced by fermentation are:
- Lactic acid is produced by Lactobacillus bulgaris, which is a product of lactic acid fermentation and helps in curd formation.
- Ethanol which is a widely used chemical solvent is produced by alcoholic fermentation by yeast.
- Butyric acid is produced by Clostridium butyricum by fermentation.

Additional Information:
1. Yeast or Saccharomyces cerevisiae is also known as baker's yeast or brewer’s yeast as it is used for baking and brewing purposes.
2. Microbes also help in the production of curd by fermentation of milk.
3. Cheese is also obtained by microbial fermentation. Swiss Cheese production is done by using the bacterium Propionibacterium sharman.
4. Penicillium, an antibiotic is produced with the help of different strains of a fungi Penicillium

Notes: It should be remembered that the process of fermentation is possible only in anaerobic conditions. Besides microbes, other cells are also capable of performing fermentation. During overexercise, the muscle tissue of our body undergoes lactic acid fermentation to obtain energy quickly.