A bile salt formed by combining glycine with cholic acid, essential for breaking down and absorbing fats in digestion.
Glyco- (sugar/sweet) + cholic (from Greek chole 'bile') + -ate (salt). Named in 19th-century biochemistry when scientists analyzed bile composition.
Glycocholic acid is your fat-emulsifier—your liver makes it to break fat droplets into tiny particles your digestive enzymes can attack, which is why a gallbladder problem often means trouble digesting fatty foods.
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