bile acid (redirected from Bile acids and salts)

bile acid /bile ac·id/ (bil as´id) any of the steroid acids derived from cholesterol; classified as primary, those synthesized in the liver, e.g., cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids, or secondary, those produced from primary bile acids by intestinal bacteria, e.g., deoxycholic and lithocholic acids. Most of the the bile acids are reabsorbed and returned to the liver via the enterohepatic circulation. Cf. bile salt under salt.

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bile acid

n.

Any of several acids formed in the liver that commonly occur in the bile in combination with glycine or taurine as sodium salts.