Question

Which of the following is not a function of bile?
A. Bile neutralizes the acidic traces of food
B. It provides an alkaline medium for the intestinal proteases
C. It contains a lipase
D. Its salts emulsify fats

Answer 1

The liver is a part of the digestive system which is the largest gland of the body. This organ performs several important functions. Bile production is one of the most important functions of the liver which helps with digestion.

Complete answer:
Bile is a dark-green-to-yellowish-brown fluid-like substance which is secreted by the liver of most vertebrates. It is also known as gall. Bile mainly helps in the digestion of lipids in the small intestine. In humans, after the secretion of bile from the liver, it is stored and concentrated in the gallbladder. At the time of eating this stored bile is released into the duodenum. It breaks the fats into fatty acids, which is taken into the body by the digestive tract.
The hepatic bile mainly contains water, bile salts, bilirubin which is a breakdown product of red blood cells, cholesterol, fatty acids, inorganic body salts such as potassium and sodium, copper, and other metals.
The two main pigments of bile are bilirubin which is orange-yellow in colour while biliverdin is green. When these two are mixed it results in the brown colour of feces. In an adult human being, approx. 400 to 800 millilitres of bile are produced per day.
Bile helps in the emulsification of the lipids in food. Bile salts are anions. They are hydrophilic on one side and hydrophobic on the other side therefore they have a tendency to aggregate around droplets of lipids. Bile also neutralises the acidic traces of food. Bile tends to be alkaline on average. It also neutralises the excess stomach acid before it enters the duodenum. The absorption of fats is another important function of bile.
Lipase is an enzyme that is secreted from the pancreas and lipase is found in pancreatic juice. So, the bile does not contain lipase.

Therefore, the correct option is option C.

Note: Bile is a fluid-like material that is formed and released by the liver. Further it is stored in the gallbladder. Bile helps with digestion and causes a breakdown of fats into fatty acids, which can be taken into the body by the digestive tract. It is composed of water, bile salts or bile acid, bilirubin, cholesterol, etc. But lipase is one type of enzyme, released from the pancreas and present in the pancreatic juice.