Question:
Bile juice contains no digestive enzymes, yet it is important for digestion. Why?
Solution:
Bile is a digestive juice secreted by the liver. Although it does not contain any digestive enzymes, it plays an important role in the digestion of fats. Bile juice contains bile salts, bile pigments like bilirubin, biliverdin and phospholipids. Bile salts break down large fat globules into smaller globules so that the pancreatic enzymes can easily act on them. This process is known as emulsification of fats. Bile juice also makes the medium alkaline and activates lipase.