... bodies, and so the effects on the digestion of fats in this investigation may be slightly slower than in real life. Bile salts have detergent action on particles of fat, which causes them to break down or be emulsified into minute, microscopic droplets called micelles, which are only 0.5- 1.0 µm in diameter. (Fig. 1) These, however, are still not small enough to pass though the membranes, and need to be broken down further. This emulsification creates a greater surface area of fat on which the lipase can work. Effectively there is more substrate, and so all the lipase enzymes are working to their full capacity (Fig. 1) In the breakdown of fats, Fatty acids are produced, which changes the overall pH of the solution, giving a simple way of measuring the breakdown of fats. fats ? fatty acids + glycerol ? + Lipase is an enzyme that catalyses the reaction of the ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now