Where is bile produced?

Bile is produced continuously by the liver and stored and concentrated in the gall bladder. Its main function is to help with digestion, particularly for digestion of fats.

In the small intestine, bile is released and acts as a detergent to break up fats into small droplets. This increases the surface area of the fats to be digested, allowing digestive enzymes (lipases) to act more efficiently. The presence of bile allows for better absorption of fats, and subsequently, the absorption of fat soluble materials like vitamin A.

Bile also contains bilirubin, which is a byproduct of red blood cell degradation. This allows bilirubin to be excreted as part of the digestion process. Another function of bile, which is alkaline in pH (basic), is to neutralize the stomach acid as food travels into the small intestine.