What is the role of bile acids in lipid digestion?

• A. They hydrolyze triglycerides to glycerol
• B. They solubilize lipids and promote emulsification
• C. They are absorbed as free fatty acids
• D. They digest proteins

Answer: (B)

Bile acids act as detergents that solubilize fats and promote emulsification. Their amphipathic nature lets them surround large fat droplets, breaking them into much smaller droplets (emulsification) and increasing surface area for pancreatic lipase to act. After lipase breaks triglycerides into free fatty acids and monoglycerides, bile acids help keep these digestion products in solution by forming mixed micelles, which ferry them to the intestinal lining for absorption. They’re not enzymes themselves and aren’t absorbed as fatty acids, nor do they digest proteins.