The starting point for enzyme production is a vial of a selected strain of microorganisms. They will be nurtured and fed until they multiply many thousand times. Then the desired end-product is recovered from the fermentation broth and sold as a standardised product. A single bacteria or fungus is able to produce only a very small portion of the enzyme, but billions microorganisms, however, can produce large amounts of enzyme. The process of multiplying microorganisms by millions is called fermentation. Fermentation to produce industrial enzymes starts with a vial of dried or frozen microorganisms called a production strain. The production strain is first cultivated in a small flask containing nutrients. The flask is placed in an incubator, which provides the optimal temperature for the microorganism cells to germinate. After the seed fermentation, the cells are transferred to a larger tank, the main fermenter, where fermentation time, temperature, pH and air are controlled to optimise growth. When this fermentation is complete, the mixture of cells, nutrients and enzymes, called the broth, is ready for filtration & purification. The enzymes are extracted from the fermentation broth by various chemical treatments to ensure efficient extraction, followed by removal of the broth using either centrifugation or filtration. Followed by a series of other filtration processes, the enzymes are finally separated from the water using an evaporation process. After this the enzymes are formulated and standardised in a form of powder, liquid or granules.

Enzyme substrates bind, with various degrees of specificity, to enzymes to form an enzyme-substrate complex (ES). Within this complex the enzyme effects (catalyzes) a specific chemical transformation of the substrate. Products of this transformation are released and the active enzyme reconstitutes. This enzyme substrate cycle continues until available substrate is depleted. Most enzymatic transformations are reversible. For example: an esterase can catalyze ester hydrolysis as well as esterification.Enzyme substrates that produce a detectable signal upon transformation are used to measure enzymatic activity: detectable signals include changes in color, fluorescence or emission of light (luminescence). The corresponding substrates are called chromogenic, fluorogenic and luminogenic substrates. Upon enzymatic transformation these substrates yield their corresponding chromogens, fluorogens or luminogens. In most cases, secondary transformations, such as deprotonation, metal complexation or (air-) oxidation, are required to yield detectable chromophors, fluorophors or luminescence

The application of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to crops at ensiling to improve silage quality is a common practice. Homofermentative LAB such as Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcusfaecium & Pediococcus spp. are used, with the goal of providing a faster fermentation, lower final pH values, raised lactate:acetate ratios, lower ethanol & ammonia nitrogen concentrations, and improved dry matter recovery . Recently, a heterofermentative LAB inoculant species, Lactobacillusbuchneri, has become available commercially and produces high concentrations of acetic acid in silage, which inhibits fungi & thus preserves silages susceptible to spoilage on exposure to air. Many studies have shown the beneficial effects on ruminant performance of feeding them with silages inoculated with lactic acid bacteria (LAB). These benefits might derive from probiotic effects.