Bile

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Bile (yellow material) in a liver biopsy in
the setting of bile stasis, i.e. cholestasis. H&E
stain
Action of bile salts in digestion
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the bodily fluid. For the industrial band, see Bile (band).
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this
article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged
and removed. (October 2011)
Bile or gall is a bitter-tasting, dark green to yellowish brown fluid, produced by the
liver of most vertebrates, that aids the process of digestion of lipids in the small
intestine. In many species, bile is stored in the gallbladder and upon eating is
discharged into the duodenum. Bile is a composition of the following materials: water
(85%), bile salts (10%), mucus and pigments (3%), fats (1%), inorganic salts
(0.7%).
Contents [hide]
1 Historical Tradition
2 Physiological functions
3 Bile soap
4 Abnormal conditions associated with bile
5 Principal bile acids
6 See also
7 References
8 External links
Historical Tradition
In medical theories prevalent in the West from Classical Antiquity up to the Middle
Ages, the body's health depended on the equilibrium between four "humors" or vital
fluids: blood, phlegm, "yellow bile" (or choler) and "black bile". Excesses of the
last two humors were thought to produce aggression and depression, respectively;
and the Greek names for them gave rise to the English words "cholera" and
"melancholia". Those same theories explain the derivation of the English word
"bilious" from "bile", and the meaning of "gall" in English as "exasperation" or
"impudence". These theories derived from the four element theory. Underlying this is
the idea that the organs of the body are connected to the soul, specifically the astral
body, and reflect the emotional state of the soul. Thus excess anger for example
would give rise to liver derangement and imbalances in the humours. This is similar
to the Chinese medical system. In the course of history, the metaphysical nature of
this process was lost, and the theory fell from use. Aniksker (talk)
Physiological functions
Bile acts to some extent as a surfactant, helping to emulsify the fats in food. Bile salt anions are hydrophilic on one side and
hydrophobic on the other side; consequently, they tend to aggregate around droplets of fat (triglycerides and phospholipids) to
form micelles, with the hydrophobic sides towards the fat and hydrophilic sides facing outwards. The hydrophilic sides are
negatively charged, and this charge prevents fat droplets coated with bile from re-aggregating into larger fat particles. Ordinarily,
the micelles in the duodenum have a diameter of around 14-33 m.
The dispersion of food fat into micelles thus provides a greatly increased surface area for the action of the enzyme pancreatic
lipase, which actually digests the triglycerides, and is able to reach the fatty core through gaps between the bile salts. A
triglyceride is broken down into two fatty acids and a monoglyceride, which are absorbed by the villi on the intestine walls. After
being transferred across the intestinal membrane, the fatty acids reform into triglycerides, before being absorbed into the
lymphatic system through lacteals. Without bile salts, most of the lipids in food would be excreted in feces, undigested.
Since bile increases the absorption of fats, it is an important part of the absorption of the fat-soluble substances, such as the
vitamins D, E, K and A.
Besides its digestive function, bile serves also as the route of excretion for bilirubin, a byproduct of red blood cells recycled by
the liver. Bilirubin derives from hemoglobin by glucuronidation.
Bile is alkaline and also has the function of neutralizing any excess stomach acid before it enters the duodenum, the first
section of the small intestine. Bile salts also act as bactericides, destroying many of the microbes that may be present in the
food.
Bile soap
Bile from slaughtered mammals can be mixed with soap. This mixture, called bile soap,
[1]
can be applied to textiles a few hours
before washing and is a traditional and rather effective method for removing various kinds of tough stains.
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Bile - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 3/18/2013
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This page was last modified on 1 March 2013 at 03:48.
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Abnormal conditions associated with bile
The cholesterol contained in bile will occasionally accrete into lumps in the gallbladder, forming gallstones. Cholesterol
gallstones are generally treated through surgical removal of the gallbladder. However, they can sometimes be dissolved by
increasing the concentration of certain naturally occurring bile acids, such as chenodeoxycholic acid and ursodeoxycholic
acid.
On an empty stomach after repeated vomiting, for example a person's vomit may be green or dark yellow, and very bitter.
The bitter and greenish component may be bile or normal digestive juices originating in the stomach
[citation needed]
The color
of bile is often likened to "fresh-cut grass"
[citation needed]
, unlike components in the stomach that look greenish yellow or dark
yellow. Bile may be forced into the stomach secondary to a weakened valve, the presence of certain drugs including alcohol,
or powerful muscular contractions and duodenal spasms.
In the absence of bile, fats become indigestible and are instead excreted in feces, a condition called steatorrhea. Feces lack
their characteristic brown color and instead are white or gray, and greasy.
[2]
Steatorrhea can lead to deficiencies in essential
fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins. In addition, past the small intestine (which is normally responsible for absorbing fat from
food) the gastrointestinal tract and gut flora are not adapted to processing fats, leading to problems in the large intestine.
Principal bile acids
Cholic acid

Chenodeoxycholic acid

Glycocholic acid

Taurocholic acid

Deoxycholic acid

Lithocholic acid
See also
Bile acid sequestrant
Bile bear
Intestinal juice
Ox gall
References
Notes
1. ^ Newton, W. (1837). "The invention of certain improvements in the manufacture of soap, which will be particularly applicable to
the felting of woollen cloths." . The London Journal Of Arts And Sciences; And Repertory Of Patent Inventions IX: 289. Retrieved
2007-02-08.
2. ^ Barabote RD, Tamang DG, Abeywardena SN, et al. (2006). "Extra domains in secondary transport carriers and channel
proteins". Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1758 (10): 155779. doi:10.1016/j.bbamem.2006.06.018 . PMID 16905115 .
Bibliography
Bowen, R. (2001-11-23). "Secretion of Bile and the Role of Bile Acids In Digestion" . Colorado State Hypertextbook article
on Bile. Archived from the original on 29 May 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-17.
Krej, Z; Hanu L., Podstatov H. & Reifov E (1983). "A contribution to the problems of the pathogenesis and microbial
etiology of cholelithiasis". Acta Universitatis Palackianae Olomucensis Facultatis Medicae 104: 279286. PMID 6222611 .
Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D.
Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1.
External links
Photo of bear bile sample in an animal welfare blog by Paul Kraaijer.
Digestive system, physiology: gastrointestinal physiology
Categories: Body fluids Digestive system Biomolecules Hepatology
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