Fermentation and Production of Microorganisms for Industrial Products: An Introduction

Bacteria, fungi (yeasts and mold), and other microorganisms have been successfully used in a variety of industries, from the food and beverage processing sector to pharmaceutical operations. Additionally, through a variety of fermentation procedures and conditions, microbes provide a significant immense potential for value-added products such amino acids, nucleotides and nucleosides, vitamins, organic acids, alcohols, exopolysaccharides, antibiotics, and anticancer agents. This chapter examines the roles played by diverse microbial groups in fermentation. There has also been discussion of the many global fermentation methods and end products. The chapter explains why fermentation has been beneficial to human health, how and when it first began, and at what industrial levels it is currently employed to make various products. When compared to the procedures that were used in the first half of the twentieth century, strain selection and manipulation have significantly improved industrial products. However, future research should focus on learning more about the various advantageous/microbial strains and procedures involved in the production of high-value fermented products.