What is the substance produced in the liver that acts in the small intestine during digestion? How does that substance act in the digestive process?
Bile, an emulsifier liquid, is made by the liver and later stored within the gallbladder and released in the duodenum. Bile is composed of bile salts, cholesterol and bile pigments. Bile salts are detergents, amphiphilic molecules, i.e., molecules with a polar water- soluble portion and a non-polar fat- soluble portion. This feature allows bile salts to enclose fats inside water-soluble micelles in a process called emulsification for them to be in contact with intestinal lipases, enzymes that break fats into simpler fatty acids and glycerol.
