Lithocholic acid
Encyclopedia
Lithocholic acid is a bile acid
that acts as a detergent to solubilize fats for absorption. It is made from chenodeoxycholic acid
by bacterial action in the colon
.
It has been implicated in human and experimental animal carcinogenesis.
Dietary fiber
can bind to lithocholic acid and aid in its excretion in stool; as such, fiber can protect against colon cancer.
LCA (and LCA acetate and LCA propionate) can activate the vitamin D receptor without raising calcium levels as much as Vitamin D itself.
Bile acid
Bile acids are steroid acids found predominantly in the bile of mammals. Bile salts are bile acids compounded with a cation, usually sodium. In humans, the salts of taurocholic acid and glycocholic acid represent approximately eighty percent of all bile salts. The two major bile acids are cholic...
that acts as a detergent to solubilize fats for absorption. It is made from chenodeoxycholic acid
Chenodeoxycholic acid
Chenodeoxycholic acid is a bile acid. It occurs as a white crystalline substance insoluble in water but soluble in alcohol and acetic acid, with melting point at 165-167 °C. Salts of this carboxylic acid are called chenodeoxycholates...
by bacterial action in the colon
Colon (anatomy)
The colon is the last part of the digestive system in most vertebrates; it extracts water and salt from solid wastes before they are eliminated from the body, and is the site in which flora-aided fermentation of unabsorbed material occurs. Unlike the small intestine, the colon does not play a...
.
It has been implicated in human and experimental animal carcinogenesis.
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...
can bind to lithocholic acid and aid in its excretion in stool; as such, fiber can protect against colon cancer.
LCA (and LCA acetate and LCA propionate) can activate the vitamin D receptor without raising calcium levels as much as Vitamin D itself.