Taurocholic acid is a deliquescent yellowish crystalline bile acid involved in the emulsification of fats. It occurs as a sodium salt in the bile of mammals. It is a conjugate of cholic acid with taurine. In medical use, it is administered as a cholagogue and choleretic. Hydrolysis of taurocholic acid yields taurine. For commercial use, taurocholic acid is manufactured from cattle bile, a byproduct of the meat-processing industry. This acid is also one of the many molecules in the body that has cholesterol as its precursor. Taurocholic acid absorption was monitored as changes in short-circuit current (SCC) in intact and stripped ileal sheets from normal (Swiss) and transgenic CF (Cftr(tm2Cam)) mice with the DeltaF508 mutation. Taurocholic acid uptake was measured directly in everted ileal sacs and in brush-border membrane vesicles (BBMVs) using radiolabelled bile acid.
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