Bile concentration

[patzi]

Does anyone know the effect of bile concentration on the rate of digestion of fat by lipase? Whathappens when concentration is too high or too low? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Rystan]

The theory is that a higher concentration of bile would expedite lipase activity. This is because bile emulsifies fat, creating greater surface area over which the lipase can react. A higher concentration would emulsify fat faster, thus allowing the lipase to work more quickly.

It follows then that a concentration that's too low would allow fat to linger undigested for a longer time, which causes a host of GI disorders including cramping, diarrhea, etc. These are symptoms of patients whose gall bladder (the bile storing organ nested in/near the liver) has been removed. They generally avoid fattier foods as diarrhea and discomfort can result.

Too a high a concentration would result in an excess of the components of bile; cholesterol, bilirubin, phospholipids and bile salts. Each of these carries their own dangers in high concentrations that you should be able to research easily.

I hope this helps.