Detergent action of bile acids as the basis for physico-chemical protection - text

Author: professor Dr. Lóránd Bertók

Title: Natural resistance: the role of bile acids and endotoxins

Megjelenés helye: Studio Physologia 3, Scientia Kiadó, Budapest 1997

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Experiments have shown that the endotoxin released from Gram-negative bacteria does not cause symptoms because the bile acids that are constantly present in the gut act as detergents to break it up on the spot into non-toxic smaller particles that bind to proteins in the gut.
It could therefore be demonstrated that endotoxin can only be absorbed from the intestinal tract in the absence of bile acid.
The bile acids administered can make up for a momentary deficiency in the body and, by entering the "gut-liver" cycle, increase the production of bile acids and their excretion into the gut, i.e. trigger the body's defence mechanism.
Damage to the intestinal mucosa reduces or completely prevents the production of cholecystokinin (CCK), in the absence of which endotoxins released from the decayed bacteria can be absorbed and enter the circulation, causing endotoxemia and shock.
In the context of the absorption of endotoxins from the gut, we have learned about a hitherto unknown defence mechanism of the body, the importance of which probably goes beyond the protection against bacterial endotoxins. This defence mechanism has been termed the physico-chemical defence of the body.
The physico-chemical protection is therefore based on the detergent effect of bile acids.