Why is the liver important in digestion?
1 Answer
Production of bile and detoxification are the most important digestion related roles that the liver plays.
Explanation:
The liver is a vital organ of humans and has a wide range of functions including detoxification of various metabolites , protein synthesis and the production of biochemicals necceasary for digestion.
The digested nutrients from the small intestine and most of the colon drain directly into veins which connect into the portal vein. The majority of the blood flow to the liver comes from the portal vein.
Nutrients as well as the breakdown products of digestion that need to be filtered flow to the liver as a first stop before going to the rest of the organs.
The liver plays an important role in the digestion and processing of proteins , fats and sugars.
It is an accessory digestive gland and produces bile, an alkaline compound which aids in digestion of fats via the emulsification of lipids.
The alkaline nature of bile neutralises excessive stomach acids before the food enters the ileum. Bile is antibacterial in nature and kills bacteria that may be present in food.
