the fermentation of sugar to alcohol can take place only if living yeast cells are present
Although showing fermentation to be the result of the action of living microorganisms was a breakthrough, it did not explain the basic nature of the fermentation process, or prove that it is caused by the microorganisms that appear to be always present. Many scientists, including Pasteur, had unsuccessfully attempted to extract the fermentation enzyme from yeast. Success came in 1897 when the German chemist Eduard Buechner ground up yeast, extracted a juice from them, then found to his amazement that this ``dead'' liquid would ferment a sugar solution, forming carbon dioxide and alcohol much like living yeasts. Buechner's results are considered to mark the birth of biochemistry. The ``unorganized ferments'' behaved just like the organized ones. From that time on, the term enzyme came to be applied to all ferments. It was then understood that fermentation is caused by enzymes that are produced by microorganisms. In 1907, Buechner won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work.
Fermentation