Studies on biliary bile acid metabolism in hepato-biliary diseases.

Biliary bile acid have been analyzed in patients with various hepato-biliary diseases by thin-layer chromatography, and divided into 4 types of glycine- and taurine-conjugates. The composition of biliary bile acid was different according to the hepatic impairement, and the ratio of glycine-conjugate to taurine-conjugate was decreased in chronic liver diseases. The G/T ratio was 1.49 +/- 0.36 in the control group, but was 0.96 +/- 0.18 in severe liver cirrhosis, and 1.38 +/- 0.44 in chronic active hepatitis. In acute hepatitis, the G/T ratio was low on the initial stage of the diseases, and returned to a normal range upon recovery. There was also a dicrease in the ratio of dihydroxycholic to cholic acid of biliary bile acid in patients with chronic liver diseases. In conclusion, the measurement of bile acid in bile has a diagnostic value for chronic hepatic impairement.