Introduction of Cholic Acid

Cholic acid is a bile acid, a white crystalline substance insoluble in water (soluble in alcohol and acetic acid), with a melting point of 200-201 °C. Salts of cholic acid are called cholates. Cholic acid, along with chenodeoxycholic acid, is one of two major bile acids produced by the liver where it is synthesized from cholesterol. Of the two major bile acids, cholate derivatives represent approximately eighty percent of all bile acids. These derivatives are made from cholyl-CoA, which forms a conjugate with either glycine, or taurine, yielding glycocholic and taurocholic acid respectively.

Cholic acid downregulates cholesterol-7-α-hydroxylase (rate-limiting step in bile acid synthesis), and cholesterol does the opposite. This is why chenodeoxycholic acid, and not cholic acid, can be used to treat gallstones (because decreasing bile acid synthesis would supersaturate the stones even more).

Cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid are the most important human bile acids. Some other mammals synthesize predominantly deoxycholic acid.

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