Bile

Bile (from Latin bilis), or gall, is a yellow-green/misty green fluid produced by the liver of most vertebrates that aids the digestion of lipids in the small intestine.

In humans, bile is primarily composed of water, is produced continuously by the liver, and is stored and concentrated in the gallbladder.

[7] The dispersion of food fat into micelles provides a greatly increased surface area for the action of the enzyme pancreatic lipase, which digests the triglycerides, and is able to reach the fatty core through gaps between the bile salts.

Bile in the gallbladder becomes more acidic the longer a person goes without eating, though resting slows this fall in pH.

[12] As an alkali, it also has the function of neutralizing excess stomach acid before it enters the duodenum, the first section of the small intestine.

The bitter and greenish component may be bile or normal digestive juices originating in the stomach.

[19] Bile may be forced into the stomach secondary due to a weakened valve (pylorus), the presence of certain drugs including alcohol, or powerful muscular contractions and duodenal spasms.

There are several potential causes for biliary obstruction including gallstones, cancer,[21] trauma, choledochal cysts, or other benign causes of bile duct narrowing.

[27] Other areas where bile is commonly used as a cooking ingredient include Laos and northern parts of Thailand.

During the Boshin War, Satsuma soldiers of the early Imperial Japanese Army reportedly ate human livers boiled in bile.