fermem

• Fermentation


  Processes involving the biochemical activity of organisms during their growth, development, reproduction and death
• Fermentation (in biotechnology)


  A chemical change brought about using microorganisms, e.g., in the biotechnology industry for the production of pharmaceuticals, food additives, and animal feed stuff
• Fermentation process


  1. Substrate

  2. Microorganisms

  3. Product
• Fermentation Technology


  • Bioprocess Technology
  • Use of organisms/ or enzymes to produce food, pharmaceuticals, and alcoholic beverages on a large-scale industrial basis
  • A branch of biotechnology that deals with the conversion of organic matter into useful products through the action of microorganisms
• Industrial fermentation


  Organisms are grown under suitable conditions by providing raw materials (C,N, etc.), and end products formed as a result of metabolism are extracted for use and have high commercial values
• Industrial fermentation process


  1. Inoculate the substrate with the desired microorganism

  2. Incubate under the favorable environmental conditions

  3. Crude Product

  4. Further processing/ purification

  5. End Use
• Ancient Chinese civilization invents a beer-type beverage called Kui


  7000 BC
• The recipe for beer is found from ancient Babylonian civilization


  4300 BC
• Egyptians used yeast to leaven bread and brew beer, which were the most abundant component of their diet. The Egyptians also fermented dairy products, producing cheese, yoghurt and butter


  3500 – 300 BC
• First documented pickling of cucumbers occurs in the Middle East

  200 BC
• The ancient Babylonians develop the technology to preserve meat sausages


  1500 BC
• The fermentation of vegetables becomes popular in ancient China


  300 BC
• The fermentation of tea is originated in China. The name Kombucha came from Japan much later (~400AD)


  200 BC
• Widespread development of cereal-legume fermentation process. Examples of end products: miso, dosa and sake


  500-1000 AD
• Applications of Fermentation Technology

  • Food and Beverage Industry
  • Pharmaceutical Industry
  • Industrial Chemicals
• Food and Beverage Industry

  • Dairy products (cheeses, yoghurts, fish and meat products)
  • Beverages (alcoholic, tea and coffee)
  • Baker's yeast
  • Food additives (antioxidants, colours, flavours, stabilisers)
  • Novel foods (soy sauce, tempeh, miso)
  • Mushroom products
  • Amino acids, vitamins
  • Starch products, Glucose and high-fructose syrups
  • Functional modifications of proteins, pectins
• Pharmaceutical Industry


  • Antibiotics
  • Diagnostic agents (enzymes, monoclonal antibodies)
  • Enzyme inhibitors
  • Steroids
  • Vaccines
• Industrial Chemicals

  • Organic Chemicals (bulk) - Ethanol, acetone, butanol, Organic acids (citric, itaconic)
  • Organic Chemicals (fine) - Enzymes, Perfumeries, Polymers (mainly polysaccharides)
  • Inorganic Chemicals - Metal beneficiation, bioaccumulation and leaching (Cu, U)
  • Energy - Ethanol (gasohol), Methane (biogas), Biomass
• Agriculture

  • Animal feedstuffs (SCP)
  • Veterinary vaccines
  • Ensilage and composting processes
  • Microbial pesticides
  • Rhizobium and other N-fixing bacterial inoculants
  • Mycorrhizal inoculants
  • Plant cell and tissue culture (vegetative propagation, embryo production, genetic, improvement)
• Types of Fermentation


  • Alcohol fermentation
  • Lactic acid fermentation
  • Acetic acid fermentation
• Types of Fermentation (based on culture media)

  • Solid state fermentation
  • Submerged fermentation
• Types of Fermentation (based on culture)

  • Monoculture
  • Mixed culture
• Microorganisms used in Fermentation Technology

  • Bacteria: Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, and Bacillus species
  • Yeast: Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• Lactobacillus spp.


  Acidification, production of bacteriocins. Produces lactic acid, ethanol, CO2, bacteriocins, biogenic amines, volatile compounds. Effects: Flavour, taste, safety, preservation
• Pediococcus spp.


  Acidification, keeping quality. Produces lactic acid, acetic acid, ethanol, CO2. Effects: Preservation, aroma
• Staphylococcus xylosus

  Aroma. Produces methyl ketones from free fatty acids, volatile compounds. Effects: Organoleptic properties
• S. camosus, Kocuria varians

  Aroma, colour development. Degrades free amino acids and inhibits the oxidation of unsaturated free fatty acids. Effects: Colour, control rancidity by peroxide decomposition
• Debaryomyces hansenii


  Colour, flavour. Produces ammonia, acetic acid, ethanol, volatile compounds. Effects: Organoleptic properties
• Fermentation Process


  1. Substrate Preparation

  2. Inoculation

  3. Growth and Fermentation

  4. Harvest and Recovery
• Applications of Fermentation


  • To overproduce essential primary metabolites (e.g. acetic and lactic acids, glycerol, acetone, butyl alcohol, organic acids, amino acids, vitamins and polysaccharides)
  • To produce secondary metabolites (e.g. penicillin, streptomycin, cephalosporin, gibberellins)
  • To produce many forms of industrially useful enzymes (e.g. exocellular enzymes -amylases, pectinases and proteases, intracellular enzymes -invertase, asparaginase, restriction endonucleases)
  • To produce monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, and novel recombinant products (e.g. therapeutic proteins)
• Enzymes


  Complex globular proteins present in living cells where they regulate the rate at which chemical reactions proceed without themselves being altered in the process
• Enzymes


  • Speed chemical reactions without undergoing a permanent chemical change
  • They are not used up in the reaction
  • They do not appear as reaction products
  • Catalyze a reaction by stabilizing the transition state

  
• Thermodynamics - A spontaneous chemical reaction occurs without any requirement for outside energy, but it may occur so slowly that it is imperceptible
• Sucrose hydrolysis: Sucrose -> Glucose + Fructose; ∆G = -7 kcal/mol. This reaction is exergonic, occurring spontaneously with a release of free energy
• Activation Energy


  The initial investment of energy for starting a reaction—the energy required to contort the reactant molecules so the bonds can break
• Enzymes cannot change the ∆G for a reaction; they cannot make an endergonic reaction exergonic

  
• Distinct types of enzyme specificity

  • Absolute specificity - Catalyse only one type of a reaction
  • Group specificity - act on specific functional groups
  • Linkage specificity - act on a chemical bond
• Substrate Specificity of Enzymes

  • The reactant an enzyme acts on is referred to as the enzyme's substrate
  • The enzyme binds to its substrate (or substrates, when there are two or more reactants), forming an enzyme-substrate complex
  • While enzyme and substrate are joined, the catalytic action of the enzyme converts the substrate to the product (or products) of the reaction

  
• Transition state


  An enzyme cannot change the ∆G for a reaction; it cannot make an endergonic reaction exergonic

  
• Reaction


  • AB
  • CD
  • AC
  • BD