Role of the Gallbladder in a Human

The basic role of the gallbladder in a human is a protective. The gallbladder decreases the formation of the secondary hydrophobic toxic bile acids (deoxycholic and lithocholic acids) by accumulating the primary bile acids (cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids) in the gallbladder, thus reducing their concentration in gallbladder-independent enterohepatic circulation and protecting the liver, the mucosa of the stomach, the gallbladder, and the colon from their effect. In mammals the presence or absence of the gallbladder is determined by the synthesis of hydrophobic or hydrophilic bile acids, respectively. Since the gallbladder is contracted in 5-20 minutes after food is available in a stomach, and “the gastric chyme” moves from the stomach into the duodenum only 1-3 hours later, the role of the gallbladder bile in digestion may be insignificant.