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Lactic acid fermentation is a metabolic process by which glucose or other six-carbon sugars (also, disaccharides of six-carbon sugars, e.g. sucrose or lactose) are converted into cellular energy and the metabolite lactate, which is lactic acid in solution.
The high concentration of lactic acid (the final product of fermentation) drives the equilibrium backwards (Le Chatelier's principle), decreasing the rate at which fermentation can occur and slowing down growth. Ethanol, into which lactic acid can be easily converted, is volatile and will readily escape, allowing the reaction to proceed easily.
The lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are either rod-shaped (), or spherical (), and are characterized by an increased tolerance to acidity (low pH range).This aspect helps LAB to outcompete other bacteria in a natural fermentation, as they can withstand the increased acidity from organic acid production (e.g., lactic acid).
One of the chemical processes that Pasteur studied was the fermentation of sugar into lactic acid, as occurs in the souring of milk. In an 1857 experiment, Pasteur was able to isolate microorganisms present in lactic acid ferment after the chemical process had taken place. [9] Pasteur then cultivated the microorganisms in a culture with his ...
Lactic acid fermentation is relatively inefficient. The waste products lactic acid and ethanol have not been fully oxidized and still contain energy, but it requires the addition of oxygen to extract this energy. [8] Generally, lactic acid fermentation occurs only when aerobic cells are lacking oxygen.
Pathway by which glucose is converted to lactic acid as a means of energy production. L. acidophilus is a homofermentative anaerobic microorganism, meaning it only produces lactic acid as an end product of fermentation; and that it can only ferment hexoses (not pentoses) by way of the EMP pathway (glycolysis). [5]
One method of doing this is to simply have the pyruvate do the oxidation; in this process, pyruvate is converted to lactate (the conjugate base of lactic acid) in a process called lactic acid fermentation: Pyruvate + NADH + H + → Lactate + NAD + This process occurs in the bacteria involved in making yogurt (the lactic acid causes the milk to ...
Pediococcus is, along with other lactic acid bacteria such as Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus, responsible for the fermentation of cabbage, making it sauerkraut.In this process, the sugars in fresh cabbage are fermented to lactic acid, which gives sauerkraut a sour flavour and good keeping qualities.