FORMATION OF ETHYL ACETATE IN FERMENTATION WITH BREWER'S YEAST. III. PARTICIPATION OF COENZYME A

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Ester formation in anaerobic fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae requires energy, which is supplied by activation of the acid moiety of the ester to acyl-CoA. Thus, pantothenic acid (or β-alanine) has a specific influence on ester formation and substances which inhibit coenzyme A and formation of acyl-CoA also inhibit ester formation. If any other acid than acetic is added to the medium, the acids compete with each other and the formation of ethyl acetate decreases and, instead, the ethyl ester corresponding to the added acid is formed. Varying the amount of pantothenic acid (or β-alanine) in the medium results in large variations in the amounts of by-products formed. Synthesis of acetic acid and glycerol decreases as the concentration of pantothenic acid increases. The relation between the formation of glycerol and acetic acid indicates that, with a higher concentration of pantothenic acid, an increasing amount of the first-formed acetic acid is metabolized further by the cell.