TYPES OF

FERMENTATION
TYPE # 1. ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION:

• Alcoholic fermentation generally means production of ethanol (CH3CH2OH).

Commonly yeasts, particularly Saccharomyces cerevisiae, are used for
production of various alcoholic beverages, as well as industrial alcohol. Yeasts
are essentially aerobic organisms, but they can also grow as facultative
anaerobes.

• The energy-yield under anaerobic conditions is much lower and hence the
growth is slower with much lower cell-yield. When grown with aeration, the cell-
yield increases dramatically, but alcohol production falls. Thus, oxygen inhibits
fermentation. This is known as Pasteur-effect.
• Conversion of pyruvic acid to ethanol proceeds in two steps: pyruvic acid to
acetaldehyde and acetaldehyde to ethanol. The first step is catalysed by
pyruvic acid decarboxylase which requires TPP as coenzyme, and the second
step by alcohol dehydrogenase which requires NADH2 as coenzyme.
• NADH2 is thereby oxidized to NAD which can be reused for reduction of GAP to
DPGA in the EMP:

• Various strains of yeasts, mostly belonging to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, have

been developed and carefully selected for large-scale manufacture of alcohol
for different purposes. Also, various materials and conditions are used
depending on the nature of the product desired.
EXAMPLE:

• For example: for production of baker’s yeast used in bread industry,

strongly aerated cultures favour large cell-yield with little or no alcohol.
Extract of malted (partly germinated) barley serves as substrate for
beer production.
• The starting material contains large amount of maltose (a dissacharide
of two glucose units) produced by hydrolysis of starch present in barley
seeds. Maltose is split into glucose and serves as substrate for alcohol
fermentation under anaerobic conditions.
TYPE # 2. LACTIC ACID FERMENTATION:

• Lactic acid fermentations are of two types:

• Homo-fermentative and
• Heterofermentative.
• In the first type, lactic acid is produced as the sole product by reduction of pyruvic acid with the
help of the enzyme lactic acid dehydrogenase. The reaction regenerates NAD from NADH 2 which is
reused for oxidation of GAP to DPGA in the glycolytic pathway.
• As one molecule of lactic acid is formed from one molecule of pyruvic acid, two molecules of lactic
acid are produced from each molecule of glucose, when it is dissimilated through EMP. In
heterofermentative type, the products are lactic acid and ethanol or acetic acid and CO 2. The
heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria dissimilate glucose via PPC. They produce lactic acid from
one-half of the glucose molecule, and ethanol or acetic acid and CO 2 from the other half.
• Homolactic fermentation is the simplest of all fermentations, involving only a
single step in which pyruvic acid is reduced to lactic acid. Lactic acid is formed
also in muscles by a similar reaction:

• The heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria lack two vital enzymes of the
glycolytic pathway — aldolase and triose phosphate isomerase. Hence, they
are unable to use EMP. As an alternative, they employ the pentose phosphate
pathway. An intermediate of this pathway is xylulose 5-phosphate.
EXAMPLE:

• Lactic acid bacteria are widely used for production of various fermented food
throughout the world. The bacteria ferment the milk sugar (lactose) to produce
lactic acid which curdles milk protein.
• Various species are used to yield products of variable consistency, taste and aroma.
In different countries the products are variously known as yogurt in Europe and
America, dadhi or dahi in India, Kefir in Russia, Kumiss, butter milk, acidophilus milk
etc.
• Lactic acid bacteria are also employed in producing fermented vegetable products,
like sauerkraut (fermented cabbage), cucumber pickles and fermented olive. These
bacteria are also used for production of sausages from beef and pork.
TYPE # 3. PROPIONIC ACID FERMENTATION:

• Propionic acid (CH3-CH2-COOH) is produced by several anaerobic bacteria among

which are the coryneform Propionibacterium, and Veillonella, Clostridium,
Selenomonas etc. Propionibacterium acidipropionici and P. freudenreichii are the
main propionic acid fermenters. Propionibacteria possess cytochromes and
catalase and can tolerate some amount of oxygen. They are natural inhabitants
of rumen of herbivorous cattle.
• The propionic acid bacteria dissimilate glucose via EMP and produce pyruvic
acid. By a biotin- linked carboxylation reaction pyruvic acid is converted to
oxalacetic acid which is then reduced in two steps to succinic acid through
reversal of TCA cycle reactions.
• Succinic acid is then converted to succinyl-CoA, also by a reverse step of the
TCA cycle. Next, succinyl-CoA produces methyl malonyl- CoA by the action of a
vitamin B12-linked enzyme methyl malonyl mutase which catalyses an intra-
molecular rearrangement. Methyl malonyl-CoA is then decarboxylated to
propionyl-CoA.
• In the final step, propionyl-CoA yields propionic acid, and CoA is transferred to
succinic acid by an enzyme, CoA-transferase. The pathway of propionic acid is
shown in Fig. 8.55. Together with lactic acid bacteria, the propionic acid bacteria
are used for commercial production of Swiss cheese. Propionic acid contributes
to the special flavour of this cheese.
TYPE # 4. BUTYRIC ACID — BUTANOL
FERMENTATION:
• The bacteria carrying out butyric acid-butanol fermentation are all obligately
anaerobic spore- forming bacteria belonging to the genus Clostridium. Besides
butyric acid and n-butanol, several other products of this fermentation are acetic
acid, ethanol, isopropanol and acetone depending on species.
• For example, C. butyricum, C. lactoacetophilum, C. pasteurianum etc. produce
butyric acid together with acetic acid, while C. butylicum and C. acetobutylicum
produce butyric acid, acetic acid and isopropanol or acetone. Also, as a
fermentation product, CO2 is always present.

• Clostridia dissimilate glucose by the EMP to form pyruvic acid which by

decarboxylation produces acetyl-CoA.
TYPE # 5. MIXED ACID FERMENTATION:

• This type of fermentation occurs characteristically in bacteria belonging to

the family Enterobacteriaceae. These bacteria can grow both aerobically
carrying out oxygen respiration or anaerobically carrying out fermentation.
The type of fermentation is called mixed-acid, because, as products, several
different organic acids and neutral compounds are produced. A characteristic
acid of mixed fermentation is formic acid, though it is by no means the major
product.
• Depending on species, a number of-different substances are formed, like
acetic acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, ethanol, acetoin, butanediol, CO2 and
molecular hydrogen.
• On the basis of fermentation products, the enterobacteria can be
divided into two groups: one group having an Escherichia coli-type
fermentation, and the other having an Enterobacter aerogenes type.
One very significant difference in these two types is the formation of
acetoin and butanediol (2, 3-butylene glycol) from pyruvic acid by
Enterobacter aerogenes. In E. coli type of fermentation these are
absent. Both types dissimilate glucose to pyruvic acid.
• Mixed acid fermentation is sometimes called formic acid fermentation.
Under anaerobic condition, E. coli cleaves pyruvic acid to acetyl-CoA
and formic acid.
• The reaction is catalysed by the enzyme, pyruvate-formic acid lyase as shown:

• Formic acid so formed is then cleaved by another lyase, formic acid-hydrogen lyase
to molecular hydrogen and CO2 which are liberated in gaseous form.

• Formic acid is also produced in Enterobacter-type of fermentation, but in a different

way. The reaction is catalyzed by a TPP-linked enzyme. In this type, pyruvic acid is
cleaved into TPP-linked “active” acetaldehyde (hydroxyethyI-Tpp.Enz.) and formic
acid.
SUMMARY: