IGCSE Biology / Food and digestion

Bile, the liver and emulsifying fat

Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1), chapter 4: Food and digestion, specification point 2.30, 2.31. Part of the full course.

Read the revision notes · IGCSE Biology past papers

Bile is made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder. It neutralises stomach acid and emulsifies fat, helping lipase digest it faster, but bile is not an enzyme and does not digest food itself.

More lessons in Food and digestion

• Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids
• Testing for starch, sugars, protein and fat
• The seven parts of a balanced diet
• What changes how much energy you need
• The parts of the digestive system
• Teeth, chewing and peristalsis
• Amylase, protease and lipase
• The villus and absorption
• Practical: measuring the energy in a food sample