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N-Cholylglycine. Bile salt, conjugate of cholate and glycine, usually as the sodium salt. It acts as a detergent to solubilize fats for absorption and is itself absorbed. It is used as a cholagogue and choleretic.

Off-White Solid

Labelled Glycocholic Acid. The product of conjugation of cholic acid with glycine; chief ingredient of the bile of herbivorous animals. In the weakly alkaline bile fluid glycocholic acid exists as the sodium salt.

ChEBI: A bile acid glycine conjugate having cholic acid as the bile acid component.

Glycocholic acid crystallises from hot water as the sesquihydrate. Dry it at 110o in vacuo. An analytical sample is prepared by suspending the acid (4g) in H2O (400mL) at ~20o, heating to boiling with slow stirring, filtering hot and allowing to cool to ~20o. The acid is filtered off, washed with H2O, dried in air, recrystallised from 5% aqueous EtOH, washed well and dried over P2O5 in a moderate vacuum to constant weight. Recrystallisation from EtOH/EtOAc, and drying, gave the anhydrous acid. [Cortese & Bauman J Am Chem Soc 57 1393 1935, Bergstrom & Norman Acta Chem Scand 7 1126 1953, Beilstein 10 IV 2077.]