Antacids and bile salts

Antacids, especially aluminium hydroxide, adsorb bile salts and lysolecithin with an affinity and capacity comparable to that of cholestyramine, a property which is likely to contribute to the beneficial effect of antacids in peptic ulceration. Dihydroxy bile salts are bound more strongly than trihydroxy bile salts and glycine conjugates more strongly than taurine conjugates, but ambient pH does not seem to have any effect on the binding. The bile salt-binding property of aluminium hydroxide may be of therapeutic value in the management of bile salt-induced diarrhoea, but its usefulness in the management of bile-reflux gastritis still remains questionable.