bile acid

noun

plural bile acids

: any of several steroid acids (such as cholic acid) that occur in bile especially in the form of bile salts, are produced chiefly in the liver from cholesterol, and aid in the intestinal breakdown and absorption of fat

Approximately 500 mg of cholesterol is converted into bile acids each day in the adult human liver.

—David W. Russell

Examples of bile acid in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This involves medicines that contain bile acids that can break up small stones. —Ann Pietrangelo, Verywell Health, 4 Sep. 2024

Lastly, all fibers altered the small-intestinal microbiota and portal bile acid composition. —New Atlas, 22 July 2024

Decrease bile acids in the gastrointestinal tract Help to prevent obesity, which is associated with cancer risk Screening Is Key to Prevent Prostate Cancer Prostate cancer typically affects older men, and Black men have a much higher risk than White men. —Nick Blackmer, Verywell Health, 29 Feb. 2024

The reason, the team determined, was that their guts contained higher levels of bile acids, which would normally be broken down by gut microbes. —Kenneth Miller, Discover Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1881, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

bile acid

noun

: any of several steroid acids (such as cholic acid) that occur in bile especially in the form of bile salts, are produced chiefly in the liver from cholesterol, and aid in the intestinal breakdown and absorption of fat

In the intestine, bile acids are essential for the absorption, transport, and metabolism of dietary fats and lipid-soluble vitamins.

—Li Tiangang and John Y. L. Chiang, Pharmacological Reviews