Naturally occurring micelle formers the bile salts, phospholipids and related systems

4 Naturally occurring micelle formers the bile salts, phospholipids and related systems 

We begin this section with a discussion of the bile salts as biological detergents, concentrating first on their physico-chemical properties and some of their interactions with other solutes and with membranes. There then follows a brief look at the phospholipids and a consideration of ternary bile salt-phospholipid-water systems and quaternary cholesterol-bile salt-phospholipid-water systems which play an important role in various biological processes. The chapter ends with a survey of some miscellaneous amphipathic compounds of biological interest. 

Bile salts are biological detergents synthesized in the liver they form small aggregates because of the bulky nature of the monomer. The structures of the commonly occurring bile acids, with the ring numbering system illustrated, are shown on p. 186. 

Small [82] has proposed that small or primary aggregates with up to 10 monomers form above the CMC by hydrophobic interactions between the nonpolar side of the monomers, and that when conditions favour the formation of 

Hypersecretion of acid leads to precipitation of bile salts in the intestine and malabsorption syndromes. Neomycin and kanamycin precipitate bile salts and among other adverse effects also lead to malabsorption [220]. 

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