324 
The  Chemistry  of  the  Liver. 
Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
June,  1892. 
green  or  reddish-brown  in  color,  possessing  a  bitter  taste,  a  slightly 
alkaline  reaction,  a  sp.  gr.  of  I  020,  and  containing  from  10  to  15 
per  cent,  of  solid  matters.  A  considerable  quantity  of  bile  is  being 
daily  produced  by  the  liver,  about  50  fluid  ounces  being  secreted 
in  twenty-four  hours  by  an  adult  man.  The  greater  part  of  the 
specific  biliary  substances  are  manufactured  by  the  liver,  and  are 
not  simply  removed  in  a  ready-made  condition  from  the  blood. 
The  sodium  salts  of  the  bile  acids  form  two  soaps,  viz.,  sodium 
glycocholate  and  sodium  taurocholate. 
Glycocholic  Acid  (C26H43N06)  is  a  compound  of  glycocine  and 
cholalic  acid,  the  union  of  these  two  substances  taking  place  in 
the  liver  cells. 
{cOHcT2      +      C«H«°s       =       C2eH«N06       +  H20 
Glycocine.  Cholalic  acid.  Glycocholic  acid.  Water. 
Glycocine  is  formed  in  the  intestines  during  the  pancreatic 
digestion  of  proteids  ;  but  as  to  the  production  of  cholalic  acid 
nothing  is  known,  except  that  it  is  probably  produced  within  the 
liver  cells. 
Glycocholic  acid  is  especially  abundant  in  the  bile  of  herbivora 
and  of  man;  and  the  amount  is  increased  in  the  bile  of  man  by  a 
vegetable  diet.    In  the  intestines  the  glycocholic  acid  of  bile  is 
decomposed,  taking  up  water  and  splitting  into  glycoceine  and 
cholalic  acid. 
C  H  NO       _l      HO    f  CH2'NH2 
U6ti43NU6      +      ri2U      _    |COHO    +  C^O, 
Glycocholic  acid.  Water.  Glycocine.  Cholalic  acid. 
Taurocholic  Acid  (C26H45N07S)  is  a  compound  of  taurine  and 
cholalic  acid,  the  union  of  these  two  substances  also  taking  place  in 
the  liver  cells. 
C2H7N03S      +      QH^A     =     C26HJ5N07S      +  H20 
Taurine.  Cholalic  acid.  Taurocholic  acid.  Water. 
Taurine  is  formed  in  the  intestines  during  the  pancreatic  digestion 
of  proteids. 
Taurocholic  acid  is  especially  abundant  in  the  bile  of  carnivora 
and  is  also  present  in  the  bile  of  man.    In  the  intestines  it  takes  up 
water  and  splits  into  taurine  and  cholalic  acid. 
C26H45N07S      +       H20      =      C2H7N03S      +  C24H<0O5 
Taurocholic  acid.  Water.  Taurine.  Cholalic  acid. 
To  separate  the  bile  salts,  evaporate  the  bile  to  a  quarter  its 
