Introduction
Bile is a complex fluid produced by the liver, consisting of bile salts, cholesterol, phospholipids, and bilirubin, which aids in digesting fats.
Bile plays a crucial role in breaking down dietary fats in the small intestine, ensuring proper nutrient absorption.
Bile is stored in the gallbladder and released into the small intestine when needed to facilitate digestion.
Three Functions :
Fat Emulsification: Bile plays a key role in breaking down fats into smaller particles, which enhances fat absorption during digestion.
Waste Elimination: Bile helps in the elimination of waste products from the liver, directing them into the digestive tract for removal.
Antimicrobial Action: Bile possesses properties that can kill germs present in food, thus helping to maintain intestinal health.
Production
Bile is produced by the liver, where hepatocytes (liver cells) form it continuously. Each day, the liver generates about 800 to 1,000 milliliters of bile.
Hepatocytes produce bile in several steps, including:
Uptake: Bile acids and ions are taken up from plasma across the basolateral membrane.
Conjugation: Bilirubin is conjugated with the amino acids taurine or glycine by the enzyme UDP glucuronyl transferase, creating eight different bile acids or salts.
Transport: The bile acids and other solutes are transported through the hepatocyte.
Excretion: The bile is excreted through the canalicular membrane.
Bilirubin is a red-orange compound and metabolite of heme, an iron-containing coordination complex, that the body produces when it breaks down old red blood cells.
How does liver produce bile
How can bile production reduce
1.What conditions can affect bile production?
2. If bile production is low, what happens to our body functions?
3. What are the symptoms of low bile production or no bile?
4. What happens if the bile is not utilized, or the bile production is high?