text: Today, the process of fermentation is used for a multitude of everyday applications including medication, beverages and food. Currently, companies like Genencor International uses the production of enzymes involved in fermentation to build a revenue of over $400 million a year. Many medications such as antibiotics are produced by the fermentation process. An example is the important drug cortisone, which can be prepared by the fermentation of a plant steroid known as diosgenin. 
  The enzymes used in the reaction are provided by the mold Rhizopus nigricans. Just as it is commonly known, alcohol of all types and brands are also produced by way of fermentation and distillation. Moonshine is a classic example of how this is carried out. Finally, foods such as yogurt are made by fermentation processes as well. Yogurt is a fermented milk product that contains the characteristic bacterial cultures Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermopiles.