The gall of bull is a liquid sour, alkaline, brown or yellow - brownish. In essence, it is the bull's bile, which is synthesized in the liver, stored in the gallbladder, and discharged into the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, through the bile duct.
Due to its emulsifying and digestive properties, it is used as an ingredient in various pharmaceutical preparations for human and animal use. It is marketed in the form of bile extract supplements. Bile is essential for the proper metabolism of lipid-rich foods, such as dairy products, oils, and meat.
Bull gall contains bile acids and bile salts, body salts, minerals, and often cholesterol. Bull bile promotes the production of bile in the human liver and is indicated as a supplement for the treatment of gallstones, liver inflammation, and chronic constipation.
It has emollient properties and is also recommended to treat alopecia associated with hormonal changes or stress. Mixed with alcohol, it is used in graphic arts, for paper marbling, engraving, lithography and watercolor painting.
Composition
The chemical composition of bull gall is similar to that produced by the human body. That is why it is used to increase the production of bile in the human liver and, consequently, achieve a faster breakdown of food and absorption of nutrients.
It mainly contains water, cholesterol, and bile salts (bile acids). Among the main bile acids are: cholic acid, deoxycholic acid, glycolic acid and taurocholic acid.
Bile also contains bilirubin (the breakdown product of red blood cells), sodium and potassium salts, and other metals such as copper.
Taurine is an important constituent of bile, it can be found in the large intestine and represents up to 0.1% of total human body weight. Bile does not contain digestive enzymes.
Mechanism of action
Eating foods containing fat stimulates the gallbladder to release bile. When it passes into the small intestine, or when taken as a supplement, bile mixes with food and acts under a surfactant or surfactant mechanism similar to that of a detergent.
Bile salts are amphipathic; that is, they have two ends: one hydrophobic (the part of the molecule that is derived from cholesterol) and the other hydrophilic (the part of the molecule associated with the conjugated amino acid).
For this reason, they perform two fundamental functions in the digestion and absorption of lipids: emulsification and transport. Bile salts tend to accumulate around lipid droplets (triglycerides and phospholipids) at the hydrophobic end to form micelles, while the hydrophilic sides face outward.
This mechanism prevents lipids from aggregating and forming larger droplets. As the lipids are dispersed in small micelles, pancreatic lipase and the other fat-digesting enzymes have a greater contact surface, which allows them to act more easily.
Bull gall helps produce more bile to digest and process fats. People who have undergone gallbladder removal can use bull bile to supplement their bile production with meals, since they do not have a storage organ for their own bile.
Health properties
Bull gall serves as a dietary supplement, either for healthy individuals or for those who suffer from a deficiency in digestive function.
Disorders of the liver, gallbladder, or small intestine can affect the amount of naturally available bile that is needed to process dietary fat.
In these cases, calf or bull bile supplements can supply bile acids or bile salts to help digest food.
The liver of a healthy adult produces between 400 and 800 milliliters of bile daily. This amount is considered sufficient in an individual in good health.
Therefore, a healthy person probably does not need to eat it. Rather, taking unnecessary supplements can pose a health risk. In this way the body is exposed to harmful contaminants or undisclosed ingredients.
Main effects
- Bile is essential for the emulsification, digestion and absorption of fats and the elimination of waste products.
- Without the action of bile salts, there would be no lipid digestion and most of the ingested lipids would pass directly to the feces. By improving the digestion of fats, it also increases the ability to absorb fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K.
- Bile is also a way of eliminating waste substances. Bilirubin, formed by the breakdown of hemoglobin in red blood cells, is part of bile.
- It is an adjunct in the treatment of diseases of the small intestine, such as Crohn's disease.
- Bile neutralizes excess acid. The pH of bile is alkaline (7.50 - 8.05), which makes it reduce the acidity of the content that comes from the stomach.
- The bactericidal action of bile causes bacteria that have survived to pass through the stomach to be eliminated.
- Helps digestive processes in aging. With age, bile secretion can also be affected.
- Increases the body's metabolic rate; that is to say, it causes more calories to be burned and is an aid in controlling cholesterol.
- Causes a decrease in gallstones.
- Helps treat many serious liver diseases, such as cirrhosis and hepatitis.
Side effects
- Nausea, stomach pain and laxative effects may occur.
- In general, the consumption of calf bile supplements containing bile acids or bile salts does not represent a danger to health, although their intake may be unnecessary if digestive health is good. These supplements are considered safe by the US Food and Drug Administration.
How to take it?
It comes in drops or pills. It is ingested with meals, either before or immediately after.
It often occurs in combination with digestive enzymes such as lipase, protease, and amylase.
A specific dosage is not recommended, but rather follow the recommendations indicated on the label of each individual product. In addition, for the strengthening of the hair follicles it is also presented in shampoos.
References
- Annigan J. (2017). Beef Bile Supplement. Retrieved on April 23, 2018, at livestrong.com
- Bile (2018). Retrieved on April 22, 2018, in Wikipedia
- Helmenstine AM (2017) Does the Taurine in Red Bull Really Come from Bull Semen? Retrieved on April 23, 2018, at livestrong.com
- Hofmann AF, Rods A. Physicochemical properties of bile acids and their relationship to biological properties: an overview of the problem. Journal of Lipid Research. 1984; 25, 1477-1489
- Ox gall (2018). Retrieved on April 22, 2018, in Wikipedia.
- Ox bile (sf). Retrieved on April 23, 2018, at nationalnutrition.ca.
- Ox bile (sf) Retrieved on April 22, 2018, in biofac.dk