Fermentation


![Comparison of aerobic respiration and most known fermentation types in eucaryotic cell.[6] Numbers in circles indicate counts of carbon atoms in molecules, C6 is glucose C6H12O6, C1 carbon dioxide CO2. Mitochondrial outer membrane is omitted.](/uploads/202501/18/Cellular_respiration5230.gif)

Fermentation is a metabolic process that converts sugar to acids, gases or alcohol. It occurs in yeast and bacteria, and also in oxygen-starved muscle cells, as in the case of lactic acid fermentation. Fermentation is also used more broadly to refer to the bulk growth of microorganisms on a growth medium, often with the goal of producing a specific chemical product. French microbiologist Louis Pasteur is often remembered for his insights into fermentation and its microbial causes. The science of fermentation is known as zymology.