The use of butanoic, pentanoic and hexanoic acids as internal standards for chromatographic analysis of complex mixtures of by-products from acidic fermentation, produced by Bacillus stearothermophilus grown in xylose-containing medium, was evaluated. After addition of the internal standards, the aqueous supernatant microbial fermentation fluids were submitted to the derivatisation process with methanol and sulphuric acid at 50 degrees C. Injection of 1-mu l aliquots of the lower chloroform layer was carried out. The esterified compounds were separated in approximately 14 min by temperature programming on a glass column packed with 10% (w/w) diethyleneglycol adipate and 2% phosphoric acid, and analysed with a flame ionisation detector. Chromatograms of the methyl esters derivates have shown that both pentanoic and hexanoic acids can be used as internal standards for gas-chromatographic analysis of acidic fermentation end-products, since they are well separated and resolved. Under the experimental conditions established, the methyl ester of butanoic acid was masked by the chloroform peak and so is not a convenient compound for further use.