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Fermentation
Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of respiration. In the context of food production, it may more broadly refer to any process in which the activity of microorganisms brings about a desirable change to a foodstuff or beverage. The science of fermentation is known as zymology.
In microorganisms, fermentation is the primary means of producing adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by the degradation of organic nutrients anaerobically. Humans have used fermentation to produce foodstuffs and beverages since the Neolithic age. For example, fermentation is used for preservation in a process that produces lactic acid found in such sour foods as pickled cucumbers, kombucha, kimchi, and yogurt, as well as for producing alcoholic beverages such as wine and beer. Fermentation also occurs within the gastrointestinal tracts of all animals, including humans.
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Respiration (noun)
The process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing, breath.
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Respiration (noun)
An act of breathing; a breath.
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Respiration (noun)
Any similar process in an organism that lacks lungs that exchanges gases with its environment.
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Respiration (noun)
The process by which cells obtain chemical energy by the consumption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide.
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Fermentation (noun)
Any of many anaerobic biochemical reactions in which an enzyme (or several enzymes produced by a microorganism) catalyses the conversion of one substance into another; especially the conversion (using yeast) of sugars to alcohol or acetic acid with the evolution of carbon dioxide
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Fermentation (noun)
A state of agitation or excitement; a ferment.