INTRODUCTION

Alcohol fermentation, also known as ethanol fermentation, is the anaerobic pathway carried out by
yeasts in which simple sugars are converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide. It is also the main process that yeast
cells use to produce ATP. Commercially, ethanol is produced using fermentation process. For instance, beer and
wine are produced by fermenting glucose with yeast. These yeasts contain enzyme that catalyse the breakdown
of glucose to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Yeasts typically function under aerobic conditions, or in the presence
of oxygen, but are also capable of functioning under anaerobic conditions, or in the absence of oxygen. When
no oxygen is readily available, alcohol fermentation occurs in the cytosol of yeast cells.

Yeast, typically, is used to make bread and alcohol. These are single-cell fungi. Yeasts feed and ferment
in the presence of water and sugar. The by-product of the yeast-feeding is carbon dioxide and ethyl alcohol. An
enzyme contained in yeast called invertase induces the breakdown of sucrose into simple sugars which are
fructose and glucose. Ethanol and carbon dioxide molecules are produced when glucose and fructose break
apart conserving their elements, during the fermentation of glucose. Also, during the alcoholic fermentation,
ATP is synthesized from ADP and P.

In this experiment, the sugar used is sucrose, the common sugar that people use for baking and cooking.
Sucrose is a dissacharide that yeast cells convert to glucose for alcoholic fermentation. The rate of fermentation,
a series of enzymatic reactions, can be affected by several factors like the concentration of yeast, concentration
of glucose, or temperature.

Guyabano tree (Anona Muricata Linn.), more commonly known as soursop, is a fruit-bearing tree that is
adaptable to tropical climate. It is cultivated for its fruit in most Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia,
Indonesia and Philippines. Guyabano fruit is a green, pear-shaped fruit covered with soft spines (see Figure 1).
The fruit contains significant amounts of vitamin C, vitamin B1, and vitamin B2. Guyabano fruit is high in
carbohydrates, particularly fructose. In this experiment, matured Guyabano or soursop fruits are used as the
main component of wine.

Figure 1. Guyabano fruit (Anona Muricata Linn.)

 This experiment mainly focuses on the production of wine from sugar. The specific goals of this
experiment are (a) to know the principles of alcohol fermentation, (b) to be familiar with the procedures of the
alcohol fermentation and pasteurization, and (c) to test and determine the purity of the wine produced through
IR spectroscopy.

References:
Williamson, K.L.; Minard, R.; Masters, K.M. Macroscale and Microscale Organic Experiments, 5th Ed.
Hougton Mifflin Co.: Boston, 2007, p 774.

Houston, T. (2013, Nov.7). Transcript of Experiment 1b: Alcoholic Fermentation in Yeast Experiment 1b:
Alcoholic Fermentation in Yeast. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/in3y-nhjqp3_/experiment-1b-
alcoholic-fermentation-in-yeast/