Bile Acids

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Bile Acids

steroid monocarboxylic acids, derivatives of cholanic acid that are formed in the liver of man and animals and secreted with bile into the duodenum.

In the liver, bile acids are formed predominantly from cholesterol. Bile acids, which are present in different proportions in the bile of different animals, differ only in the number and spatial arrangement of their hydroxyl groups. Human bile contains principally cholic acid and small quantities of deoxycholic, lithocholic, and chenodeoxycholic acids. Very few bile acids are found in a free state in the bile; a large proportion of them are bound in the form of so-called conju-gate acids, such as glycocholic and taurocholic acid, which are formed as a result of the addition of bile acids to glycine and taurine.

Bile acids promote the digestion of fats in the intestinal tract; they activate the lipase of the pancreatic and intestinal juices and promote the emulsification of fats, stimulating their absorption in undecomposed form; they increase the speed of absorption of poorly soluble calcium salts of fatty acids by forming readily soluble complexes with them; and they greatly intensify intestinal peristalsis. In the intestinal tract a large proportion of the bile acid undergoes reverse absorption, and through the portal-vein system it enters the liver, where it is completely retained. The total bile-acid con-tent in the blood averages 0.8 mg percent; in the bile of the liver, 0.9–1.8 percent; and in cystic bile, 5.7–10.8 percent. When there is a considerable increase in the bile-acid content of the blood, the bile acids begin to be discharged with the urine. A decrease in bile-acid content is almost always accompanied by the precipitation of cholesterol, the principal constituent of gallstones.

G. A. SOLOV’EVA

References in periodicals archive ?

Moreover, in antibiotic-treated mice, the change in the profile of bile acids can also be primary as well as secondary to the alterations in gut microbiota because antibiotics can directly eliminate bile acid-generating bacteria, which in turn causes additional changes in the bile acid composition," noted Dr.

Western diet may be blamed for chronic liver inflammation

The typical presentation of a bird infected with C psittaci can include conjunctivitis, nasal and ocular discharge, biliverdinuria, a leukocytosis with concurrent heterophilia and monocytosis, elevation of aspartate transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine phosphokinase, and bile acids.

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Taurine is conjugated to bile acids in liver and deconjugated in the intestine by several bacterial species.

Sex-specific effects of organophosphate diazinon on the gut microbiome and its metabolic functions

SAN DIEGO -- Bile acid salts in the stool may be a potential biomarker for recurrent episodes of Clostridium difficile infection, according to a preliminary study.

Bile salts may be biomarker for recurrent C. difficile

2 ICP is characterized by pruritus, elevated serum aminotransferase levels, and/or elevated fasting serum bile acid levels.

Alanine aminotransferase as a predictor of adverse perinatal outcomes in women with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

16 Non availability of bile acids was a major limitation of our study but we adopted a pragmatic approach and diagnosed ICP like presently we are doing in our clinical setting by clinical features and excluding other causes.

Frequency of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy in Punjab Pakistan: A single centre study

They identified 26 different primary and secondary bile acids and defined the concentrations of those acids before and after treatment.

Antibiotics pave way for C. difficile infections by killing beneficial bile acid-altering bacteria

The accumulation of toxic bile acids during bile duct obstruction contributes to the hepatocellular injury.

Liver Cholesterol Overload Aggravates Obstructive Cholestasis by Inducing Oxidative Stress and Premature Death in Mice

Once confirmed, the UDCA must be stopped immediately and be replaced with primary bile acids.

Novel Mutations in the 3[beta]-hydroxy-∆5-C27-steroid Dehydrogenase Gene (HSD3B7) in a Patient with Neonatal Cholestasis

The bile acid binding and swelling capacities are important for psyllium's potential health benefits.

Solid-state acid reaction improves psyllium functionality

These atypical bile acids are preferentially sulfated (15) at the C-3 position and conjugated in the side-chain before elimination in the urine (1, 2).

Tandem mass spectrometric determination of atypical 3[beta]-hydroxy-[[DELTA].sup.5]-bile acids in patients with 3[beta]-hydroxy-[[DELTA].sup.5]-[C.sub.27]-steroid oxidoreductase deficiency: application to diagnosis and monitoring of bile acid therapeutic response

At the start of a meal, FXR prepares for an influx of food, not only triggering bile acid release but also altering blood sugar levels and instigating the burning of some fats.