Question

Which different products can be produced with the help of microbes ?

Answer 1

1. Dairy Products:
Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) like lactobacillus are added to milk. It converts lactose sugar of milk into lactic acid. Lactic acid causes coagulation and partial digestion of milk protein casein. Milk is changed into curd, yoghurt and cheese.
(i) Curd:
(ii) Yoghurt
(iii) Butter Milk:
(iv) Sour Cream:
(v) Cheese:

2. Bread

3. Dosa, Uppma and Idli
They are fermented preparation of rice and Black Gram (vem. Urad). The two are allowed to ferment for 3-12 hours with air borne Leuconostoc and Streptococcus species of bacteria.
4. Jalebi
5. Other Foods:
Tempeh (Indonesia), Tofu (Japanese) and Sufu (Chinese) are fer­mented foods obtained from soyabean. Soy sauce is brown flavoured salty sauce fermented from soyabean and wheat.
6. SCP (Single cell protein):
It is the production of microbial biomass as supplementary food for humans and animals. The common SCP are Spirulina, Yeast and Fusarium graminearum. Processing is required. SCP is rich in high quality protein, vitamins and minerals but poor in fat.

In case of industrial products also microbes have an important role
1)Many organisms serve as source of antibiotics (directly or indirectly), for example,fungi like Penicillium which produces the first discovered antibiotic: Penicillin and bacteria like Streptomyces sp. which produce the antibiotics.
2)Microbial Bio-Fertilizers
3)Using Microbes to Produce Insulin