What can the liver secrete

The liver plays a very important role in human health. Because the liver can secrete some special substances. To ensure the normal functioning of the human body, for example, bile acids and bile are secreted from the liver. Of course, in addition to its secretory function, the liver also has excretory, metabolic and detoxification functions. Next, I will introduce the functions of the liver in detail!

1. Secretion and excretion functions

Hepatocytes continuously produce bile acids and secrete bile. Bile can promote the digestion and absorption of fat in the small intestine during the digestive process. Without bile, about 40% of ingested fat is lost in the feces, and there is also malabsorption of fat-soluble vitamins. At the same time, it can also discharge the metabolites of hemoglobin (bile pigments) and bacteria that enter the body into the intestines along with bile.

2. Metabolic Function

① Sugar metabolism. After the starch and sugar in the diet are digested into glucose and absorbed through the intestines, the liver can synthesize it into glycogen and store it in the liver. When the body needs it, the liver cells can break down the glycogen into glucose for the body to use. When the blood sugar concentration changes, the liver plays a regulatory role.

②Protein metabolism. The liver is the only organ in the human body that synthesizes albumin. The production, maintenance and regulation of globulins, enzyme proteins and plasma proteins other than albumin all require the participation of the liver. Amino acid metabolism such as deamination reactions, urea synthesis and ammonia processing are all carried out in the liver.

③Fat metabolism. The synthesis and release of neutral fats, the decomposition of fatty acids, the production and oxidation of ketone bodies, the synthesis of cholesterol and phospholipids, and the synthesis and transport of lipoproteins all take place in the liver.

④Vitamin metabolism. The synthesis and storage of many vitamins such as A, B, C, D and K are closely related to the liver. Abnormal vitamin metabolism occurs when the liver is significantly damaged.

⑤Hormone metabolism. The liver is involved in the inactivation of hormones. When liver function is damaged for a long time, sex hormone imbalance may occur, often with decreased libido, and sparse or missing axillary and pubic hair. Male symptoms include impotence, testicular atrophy, and breast development; female symptoms include irregular menstruation, palmar erythema, and spider nevi.

3. Detoxification

The liver can convert toxic substances that enter the body or are produced during metabolism into non-toxic or less toxic substances through oxidation and combination. For example, when proteins in the body are hydrolyzed into amino acids, the ammonia produced by the decomposition of amino acids is converted into non-toxic urea by the liver and excreted from the body through urine. Most endogenous or exogenous toxic substances are transformed into soluble substances through the action of liver cells to eliminate, weaken or combine their toxicity and facilitate excretion. The liver can also convert a large amount of toxic ammonia produced by amino acid metabolism into non-toxic urea through the action of related enzymes on the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum in liver cells, and excrete it from the body through the kidneys.