Relation of the Structure of Sugars to Their Dissimilation in the Butyl-Acetonic Fermentation

The dissimilation of starch in corn mash by Clostridium acetobutylicum produces butanol, acetone and ethanol, commonly called solvents \u27, in the approximate ratio of 60:80:10, respectively. Although corn mash is the usual substrate, fermentations of certain pure carbohydrates by Cl. acetobutylicum have been investigated previously to some extent. The studies of various workers (3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12) have shown that a considerable number of sugars are fermented by the butyl organism in semi-synthetic media. The sugar fermentations are somewhat slower than for corn mash, and the final acidities arc somewhat higher with yields of neutral products correspondingly lower. There is some variation in the proportion of solvents produced from the various carbohydrates. Hence, an attempt was made in this investigation to relate the structure of the sugars and the proportions of the solvents formed, by subjecting to the action of the butyl-acetone organism as many of the sugars and polyhydric alcohols as could be readily obtained or prepared. These included thirteen compounds which had not been previously studied in detail, with dextrose and corn mash used for controls