What is the Meaning of Bile | Definition and What is Bile
Bile is a yellowish fluid that is secreted by the liver of vertebrates. It is a liquid substance which acts on digestion, acting as emulsifier fatty acids.
Bile contains 97% water and the remaining 3% consist of bile salts (such as sodium taurocholate and glycocholate of sodium), proteins, cholesterol and hormones. It belongs to the liver to secrete bile continuous: this bile is used in the digestion process, or is stored in the gallbladder. The production of bile in the case of human beings is approximately 1 litre per day.
When we eat, bile out of this gall and arrives in the intestine, where it mixes with fats from foods. Fats are dissolved by bile acids and become a part of the contents of the intestine. Once dissolved, pancreatic enzymes, and those of the intestinal mucosa are responsible for the digestion of fats.
This means that bile helps the FAT to be absorbed by the small intestine, reason why it needed for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K).
Bile also helps excrete bilirubin, to neutralize the acids in the stomach, to eliminate excess the germs (or microbes) that enter the body (through food) and is useful in detoxification of excess alcohol and certain medications.
Among the disorders associated with bile, we will retain the possible formation of gallstones (when cholesterol builds up in the masses of the gallbladder) and intestinal problems caused by the lack of bile (as fat, not digested, are excreted).