Bilirubin is a yellow pigment, including abnormal accumulation in the blood and tissues determines a jaundice (or "jaundice"), which may identify causes very various.
Integrated bilirubin the food bowl to the intestine hail, with other bile pigments. She is subsequently degraded in stercobiline, brown pigment giving colour to feces.
Function:
the steps of the synthesis of bilirubin are:
heme ? biliverdin ? bilirubin
bilirubin that is produced is called "free" or "non-conjugated" bilirubin.
It is ingested by macrophages and passes in the plasma, she joined a carrier protein: albumin which prevails to the liver. In the liver, bilirubin will be conjugated to glucuronic (derived from glucose) acid by a process of glucurono-conjugation.
It is then called "conjugated" bilirubin. It is soluble, non-toxic.
Conjugated bilirubin is then eliminated by bile, then the will be in the small intestine where it will be degraded in stercobiline (dark brown color) by the intestinal flora
