Critical analysis of data concerning Saccharomyces cerevisiae free-cell proliferations and fermentations assisted by magnetic and electromagnetic fields

The review analyses studies on magnetically assisted proliferations and batch fermentations with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts. The results available in the literature are contradictory and show two tendencies: magnetic field suppression of the cell growth and positive effects in batch fermentation with increasing both biomass and metabolite production. The amount of data analyzed allows several concepts existing in the literature to be outlined and critically commented. Further, a new concept of magnetically induced micro-dynamos, recently conceived, is developed towards a unified explanation of the results provided by proliferation and batch fermentation experiments. .